1

Çré Éçopaniñad
(1974 Edition)

His Divine Grace

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda
Founder-Äcärya of the International Society for
Krishna Consciousness

Introduction
"Teachings of the Vedas"
[Delivered as a lecture by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta
Swami Prabhupäda on October 6, 1969, at Conway Hall,
London, England.]

Ladies and gentlemen, today's subject matter is the teachings

of the Vedas. What are the Vedas? The Sanskrit verbal root
of veda can be interpreted variously, but the purport is finally
one. Veda means knowledge. Any knowledge you accept is
veda, for the teachings of the Vedas are the original
knowledge. In the conditioned state, our knowledge is
subjected to many deficiencies. The difference between a
conditioned soul and a liberated soul is that the conditioned
soul has four kinds of defects. The first defect is that he must
commit mistakes. For example, in our country, Mahatma
Gandhi was considered to be a very great personality, but he
committed many mistakes. Even at the last stage of his life,
his assistant warned, "Mahatma Gandhi, don't go to the New
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Delhi meeting. I have some friends, and I have heard there is

danger." But he did not hear. He persisted in going and was
killed. Even great personalities like Mahatma Gandhi,
President Kennedy—there are so many of them—make
mistakes. To err is human. This is one defect of the
conditioned soul.
Another defect: to be illusioned. Illusion means to accept
something which is not: mäyä. Mäyä means "what is not."
Everyone is accepting the body as the self. If I ask you what
you are, you will say, "I am Mr. John; I am a rich man; I am
this; I am that." All these are bodily identifications. But you
are not this body. This is illusion.
The third defect is the cheating propensity.
Everyone has the propensity to cheat others. Although a
person is fool number one, he poses himself as very
intelligent. Although it is already pointed out that he is in
illusion and makes mistakes, he will theorize: "I think this is
this, this is this." But he does not even know his own position.
He writes books of philosophy, although he is defective. That
is his disease. That is cheating.
Lastly, our senses are imperfect. We are very proud of our
eyes. Often, someone will challenge, "Can you show me
God?" But do you have the eyes to see God? You will never
see if you haven't the eyes. If immediately the room becomes
dark, you cannot even see your hands. So what power do you
have to see? We cannot, therefore, expect knowledge (veda)
with these imperfect senses. With all these deficiencies, in
conditioned life we cannot give perfect knowledge to anyone.
Nor are we ourselves perfect. Therefore we accept the Vedas
as they are.
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You may call the Vedas Hindu, but "Hindu" is a foreign

name. We are not Hindus. Our real identification is
varëäçrama. Varëäçrama denotes the followers of the Vedas,
those who accept the human society in eight divisions of
varëa and äçrama. There are four divisions of society and
four divisions of spiritual life. This is called varëäçrama. It is
stated in the Bhagavad-gétä (4.13), "These divisions are
everywhere because they are created by God." The divisions
of society are brähmaëa, kñatriya, vaiçya, çüdra. Brähmaëa
refers to the very intelligent class of men, those who know
what is Brahman. Similarly, the kñatriyas, the administrator
group, are the next intelligent class of men. Then the vaiçyas,
the mercantile group. These natural classifications are found
everywhere. This is the Vedic principle, and we accept it.
Vedic principles are accepted as axiomatic truth, for there
cannot be any mistake. That is acceptance. For instance, in
India cow dung is accepted as pure, and yet cow dung is the
stool of an animal. In one place you'll find the Vedic
injunction that if you touch stool, you have to take a bath
immediately. But in another place it is said that the stool of a
cow is pure. If you smear cow dung in an impure place, that
place becomes pure. With our ordinary sense we can argue,
"This is contradictory." Actually, it is contradictory from the
ordinary point of view, but it is not false. It is fact. In
Calcutta, a very prominent scientist and doctor analyzed cow
dung and found that it contains all antiseptic properties.
In India if one person tells another, "You must do this," the
other party may say, "What do you mean? Is this a Vedic
injunction, that I have to follow you without any argument?"
Vedic injunctions cannot be interpreted. But ultimately, if
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you carefully study why these injunctions are there, you will
find that they are all correct.
The Vedas are not compilations of human knowledge. Vedic
knowledge comes from the spiritual world, from Lord Kåñëa.
Another name for the Vedas is çruti. Çruti refers to that
knowledge which is acquired by hearing. It is not
experimental knowledge. Çruti is considered to be like a
mother. We take so much knowledge from our mother. For
example, if you want to know who your father is, who can
answer you? Your mother. If the mother says, "Here is your
father," you have to accept it. It is not possible to experiment
to find out whether he is your father. Similarly, if you want to
know something beyond your experience, beyond your
experimental knowledge, beyond the activities of the senses,
then you have to accept the Vedas. There is no question of
experimenting. It has already been experimented. It is already
settled. The version of the mother, for instance, has to be
accepted as truth. There is no other way.
The Vedas are considered to be the mother, and Brahmä is
called the grandfather, the forefather, because he was the first
to be instructed in the Vedic knowledge. In the beginning the
first living creature was Brahmä. He received this Vedic
knowledge and imparted it to Närada and other disciples and
sons, and they also distributed it to their disciples. In this way,
the Vedic knowledge comes down by disciplic succession. It is
also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä that Vedic knowledge is
understood in this way. If you make experimental endeavor,
you come to the same conclusion, but just to save time you
should accept. If you want to know who your father is and if
you accept your mother as the authority, then whatever she
says can be accepted without argument. There are three kinds
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of evidence: pratyakña, anumäna and çabda. Pratyakña means

"direct evidence." Direct evidence is not very good because
our senses are not perfect. We are seeing the sun daily, and it
appears to us just like a small disc, but it is actually far, far
larger than many planets. Of what value is this seeing?
Therefore we have to read books; then we can understand
about the sun. So direct experience is not perfect. Then there
is anumäna, inductive knowledge: "It may be like this"—
hypothesis. For instance, Darwin's theory says it may be like
this, it may be like that. But that is not science. That is a
suggestion, and it is also not perfect. But if you receive the
knowledge from the authoritative sources, that is perfect. If
you receive a program guide from the radio station
authorities, you accept it. You don't deny it; you don't have
to make an experiment, because it is received from the
authoritative sources.
Vedic knowledge is called çabda-pramäëa. Another name is
çruti. Çruti means that this knowledge has to be received
simply by aural reception. The Vedas instruct that in order to
understand transcendental knowledge, we have to hear from
the authority. Transcendental knowledge is knowledge from
beyond this universe. Within this universe is material
knowledge, and beyond this universe is transcendental
knowledge. We cannot even go to the end of the universe, so
how can we go to the spiritual world? Thus to acquire full
knowledge is impossible.
There is a spiritual sky. There is another nature, which is
beyond manifestation and nonmanifestation. But how will you
know that there is a sky where the planets and inhabitants are
eternal? All this knowledge is there, but how will you make
experiments? It is not possible. Therefore you have to take
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the assistance of the Vedas. This is called Vedic knowledge.

In our Kåñëa consciousness movement we are accepting
knowledge from the highest authority, Kåñëa. Kåñëa is
accepted as the highest authority by all classes of men. I am
speaking first of the two classes of transcendentalists. One
class of transcendentalists is called impersonalistic, Mäyävädé.
They are generally known as Vedäntists, led by Çaìkaräcärya.
And there is another class of transcendentalists, called
Vaiñëavas, like Rämänujäcärya, Madhväcärya, Viñëusvämé.
Both the Çaìkara-sampradäya and the Vaiñëava-sampradäya
have accepted Kåñëa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Çaìkaräcärya is supposed to be an impersonalist who
preached impersonalism, impersonal Brahman, but it is a fact
that he is a covered personalist. In his commentary on the
Bhagavad-gétä he wrote, "Näräyaëa, the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, is beyond this cosmic manifestation." And then
again he confirmed, "That Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Näräyaëa, is Kåñëa. He has come as the son of Devaké and
Vasudeva." He particularly mentioned the names of His
father and mother. So Kåñëa is accepted as the Supreme
Personality of Godhead by all transcendentalists. There is no
doubt about it. Our source of knowledge in Kåñëa
consciousness is the Bhagavad-gétä, which comes directly
from Kåñëa. We have published the Bhagavad-gétä As It Is
because we accept Kåñëa as He is speaking, without any
interpretation. That is Vedic knowledge. Since the Vedic
knowledge is pure, we accept it. Whatever Kåñëa says, we
accept. This is Kåñëa consciousness. That saves much time. If
you accept the right authority, or source of knowledge, then
you save much time. For example, there are two systems of
knowledge in the material world: inductive and deductive.
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From deductive, you accept that man is mortal. Your father

says man is mortal, your sister says man is mortal, everyone
says man is mortal—but you do not experiment. You accept it
as a fact that man is mortal. If you want to research to find
out whether man is mortal, you have to study each and every
man, and you may come to think that there may be some man
who is not dying but you have not seen him yet. So in this way
your research will never be finished. In Sanskrit this process is
called äroha, the ascending process. If you want to attain
knowledge by any personal endeavor, by exercising your
imperfect senses, you will never come to the right
conclusions. That is not possible.
There is a statement in the Brahma-saàhitä: Just ride on the
airplane which runs at the speed of mind. Our material
airplanes can run two thousand miles per hour, but what is the
speed of mind? You are sitting at home, you immediately
think of India—say, ten thousand miles away—and at once it
is in your home. Your mind has gone there. The mind-speed is
so swift. Therefore it is stated, "If you travel at this speed for
millions of years, you'll find that the spiritual sky is
unlimited." It is not possible even to approach it. Therefore,
the Vedic injunction is that one must approach—the word
"compulsory" is used—a bona fide spiritual master, a guru.
And what is the qualification of a spiritual master? He is one
who has rightly heard the Vedic message from the right
source. And he must practically be firmly established in
Brahman. These are the two qualities he must have.
Otherwise he is not bona fide.
This Kåñëa consciousness movement is completely authorized
from Vedic principles. In the Bhagavad-gétä Kåñëa says, "The
actual aim of Vedic research is to find out Kåñëa." In the
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Brahma-saàhitä it is also stated, "Kåñëa, Govinda, has

innumerable forms, but they are all one." They are not like
our forms, which are fallible. His form is infallible. My form
has a beginning, but His form has no beginning. It is ananta.
And His form—so many multiforms—has no end. My form is
sitting here and not in my apartment. You are sitting there
and not in your apartment. But Kåñëa can be everywhere at
one time. He can sit down in Goloka Våndävana, and at the
same time He is everywhere, all-pervading. He is original, the
oldest, but whenever you look at a picture of Kåñëa you'll find
a young boy fifteen or twenty years old. You will never find
an old man. You have seen pictures of Kåñëa as a charioteer
from the Bhagavad-gétä. At that time He was not less than
one hundred years old. He had great-grandchildren, but He
looked just like a boy. Kåñëa, God, never becomes old. That
is His supreme power. And if you want to search out Kåñëa
by studying the Vedic literature, then you will be baffled. It
may be possible, but it is very difficult. But you can very
easily learn about Him from His devotee. His devotee can
deliver Him to you: "Here He is, take Him." That is the
potency of Kåñëa's devotees.
Originally there was only one Veda, and there was no
necessity of reading it. People were so intelligent and had
such sharp memories that by once hearing from the lips of the
spiritual master they would understand. They would
immediately grasp the whole purport. But five thousand years
ago Vyäsadeva put the Vedas in writing for the people in this
age, Kali-yuga. He knew that eventually the people would be
short-lived, their memories would be very poor, and their
intelligence would not be very sharp. "Therefore, let me teach
this Vedic knowledge in writing." He divided the Vedas into
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four: Åg, Säma, Atharva and Yajur. Then he gave the charge
of these Vedas to his different disciples. He then thought of
the less intelligent class of men—stré, çüdra and dvija-bandhu.
He considered the woman class and çüdra class (worker class)
and dvija-bandhu. Dvija-bandhu refers to those who are born
in a high family but who are not properly qualified. A man
who is born in the family of a brähmaëa but is not qualified as
a brähmaëa is called dvija-bandhu. For these persons he
compiled the Mahäbhärata, called the history of India, and
the eighteen Puräëas. These are all part of the Vedic
literature: the Puräëas, the Mahäbhärata, the four Vedas and
the Upaniñads. The Upaniñads are part of the Vedas. Then
Vyäsadeva summarized all Vedic knowledge for scholars and
philosophers in what is called the Vedänta-sütra. This is the
last word of the Vedas.
Vyäsadeva personally wrote the Vedänta-sütra under the
instructions of Närada, his Guru Mahäräja (spiritual master),
but still he was not satisfied. That is a long story, described in
Çrémad-Bhägavatam. Vedavyäsa was not very satisfied even
after compiling many Puräëas and Upaniñads, and even after
writing the Vedänta-sütra. Then his spiritual master, Närada,
instructed him, "You explain the Vedänta-sütra." Vedänta
means "ultimate knowledge," and the ultimate knowledge is
Kåñëa. Kåñëa says that throughout all the Vedas one has to
understand Him: vedänta-kåd veda-vid eva cäham. Kåñëa
says, "I am the compiler of the Vedänta-sütra, and I am the
knower of the Vedas." Therefore the ultimate objective is
Kåñëa. That is explained in all the Vaiñëava commentaries on
Vedänta philosophy. We Gauòéya Vaiñëavas have our
commentary on Vedänta philosophy, called Govinda-bhäñya,
by Baladeva Vidyäbhüñaëa. Similarly, Rämänujäcärya has a
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commentary, and Madhväcärya has one. The version of

Çaìkaräcärya is not the only commentary. There are many
Vedänta commentaries, but because the Vaiñëavas did not
present the first Vedänta commentary, people are under the
wrong impression that Çaìkaräcärya's is the only Vedänta
commentary. Besides that, Vyäsadeva himself wrote the
perfect Vedänta commentary, Çrémad-Bhägavatam. Çrémad-
Bhägavatam begins with the first words of the Vedänta-sütra:
janmädy asya yataù [SB 1.1.1]. And that janmädy asya yataù
is fully explained in Çrémad-Bhägavatam. The Vedänta-sütra
simply hints at what is Brahman, the Absolute Truth: "The
Absolute Truth is that from whom everything emanates."
This is a summary, but it is explained in detail in Çrémad-
Bhägavatam. If everything is emanating from the Absolute
Truth, then what is the nature of the Absolute Truth? That is
explained in Çrémad-Bhägavatam. The Absolute Truth must
be consciousness. He is self-effulgent (sva-räö). We develop
our consciousness and knowledge by receiving knowledge
from others, but for Him it is said that He is self-effulgent.
The whole summary of Vedic knowledge is the Vedänta-
sütra, and the Vedänta-sütra is explained by the writer
himself in Çrémad-Bhägavatam. We finally request those who
are actually after Vedic knowledge to try to understand the
explanation of all Vedic knowledge from Çrémad-Bhägavatam
and the Bhagavad-gétä.
INVOCATION
TEXT
oà pürëam adaù pürëam idaà
pürëät pürëam udacyate
pürëasya pürëam ädäya
pürëam evävaçiñyate
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SYNONYMS
oà—the Complete Whole; pürëam—perfectly complete;
adaù—that; pürëam—perfectly complete; idam—this
phenomenal world; pürëät—from the all-perfect; pürëam—
complete unit; udacyate—is produced; pürëasya—of the
Complete Whole; pürëam—completely, all; ädäya—having
been taken away; pürëam—the complete balance; eva—even;
avaçiñyate—is remaining.
TRANSLATION
The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and
because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him,
such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as
complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete
Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete
Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from
Him, He remains the complete balance.
PURPORT
The Complete Whole, or the Supreme Absolute Truth, is the
complete Personality of Godhead. Realization of impersonal
Brahman or of Paramätmä, the Supersoul, is incomplete
realization of the Absolute Complete. The Supreme
Personality of Godhead is sac-cid-änanda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1].
Realization of impersonal Brahman is realization of His sat
feature, or His aspect of eternity, and Paramätmä realization
is realization of His sat and cit features, His aspects of
eternity and knowledge. But realization of the Personality of
Godhead is realization of all the transcendental features—sat,
cit and änanda, bliss. When one realizes the Supreme Person,
he realizes these aspects of the Absolute Truth in their
completeness. Vigraha means "form." Thus the Complete
Whole is not formless. If He were formless, or if He were less
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than His creation in any other way, He could not be complete.

The Complete Whole must contain everything both within
and beyond our experience; otherwise He cannot be
complete.
The Complete Whole, the Personality of Godhead, has
immense potencies, all of which are as complete as He is.
Thus this phenomenal world is also complete in itself. The
twenty-four elements of which this material universe is a
temporary manifestation are arranged to produce everything
necessary for the maintenance and subsistence of this
universe. No other unit in the universe need make an
extraneous effort to try to maintain the universe. The
universe functions on its own time scale, which is fixed by the
energy of the Complete Whole, and when that schedule is
completed, this temporary manifestation will be annihilated
by the complete arrangement of the Complete Whole.
All facilities are given to the small complete units (namely the
living beings) to enable them to realize the Complete Whole.
All forms of incompleteness are experienced due to
incomplete knowledge of the Complete Whole. The human
form of life is a complete manifestation of the consciousness
of the living being, and it is obtained after evolving through
8,400,000 species of life in the cycle of birth and death. If in
this human life of full consciousness the living entity does not
realize his completeness in relation to the Complete Whole,
he loses the chance to realize his completeness and is again
put into the evolutionary cycle by the law of material nature.
Because we do not know that there is a complete
arrangement in nature for our maintenance, we make efforts
to utilize the resources of nature to create a so-called
complete life of sense enjoyment. Because the living entity
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cannot enjoy the life of the senses without being dovetailed

with the Complete Whole, the misleading life of sense
enjoyment is illusion. The hand of a body is a complete unit
only as long as it is attached to the complete body. When the
hand is severed from the body, it may appear like a hand, but
it actually has none of the potencies of a hand. Similarly,
living beings are part and parcel of the Complete Whole, and
if they are severed from the Complete Whole, the illusory
representation of completeness cannot fully satisfy them.
The completeness of human life can be realized only when
one engages in the service of the Complete Whole. All
services in this world—whether social, political, communal,
international or even interplanetary—will remain incomplete
until they are dovetailed with the Complete Whole. When
everything is dovetailed with the Complete Whole, the
attached parts and parcels also become complete in
themselves.
Mantra One
TEXT
éçäväsyam idam sarvaà
yat kiïca jagatyäà jagat
tena tyaktena bhuïjéthä
mä gådhaù kasya svid dhanam
SYNONYMS
éça—by the Lord; äväsyam—controlled; idam—this; sarvam—
all; yat kiïca—whatever; jagatyäm—within the universe;
jagat—all that is animate or inanimate; tena—by Him;
tyaktena—set-apart quota; bhuïjéthäù—you should accept;
mä—do not; gådhaù—endeavor to gain; kasya svit—of
anyone else; dhanam—the wealth.
TRANSLATION
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Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is

controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore
accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set
aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things,
knowing well to whom they belong.
PURPORT
Vedic knowledge is infallible because it comes down through
the perfect disciplic succession of spiritual masters, beginning
with the Lord Himself. Since He spoke the first word of
Vedic knowledge, the source of this knowledge is
transcendental. The words spoken by the Lord are called
apauruñeya, which indicates that they are not delivered by
any mundane person. A living being who lives in the mundane
world has four defects: (1) he is certain to commit mistakes;
(2) he is subject to illusion; (3) he has a propensity to cheat
others; and (4) his senses are imperfect. No one with these
four imperfections can deliver perfect knowledge. The Vedas
are not produced by such an imperfect creature. Vedic
knowledge was originally imparted by the Lord into the heart
of Brahmä, the first created living being, and Brahmä in his
turn disseminated this knowledge to his sons and disciples,
who have handed it down through history.
Since the Lord is pürëam, all-perfect, there is no possibility of
His being subjected to the laws of material nature, which He
controls. However, both the living entities and inanimate
objects are controlled by the laws of nature and ultimately by
the Lord's potency. This Éçopaniñad is part of the Yajur Veda,
and consequently it contains information concerning the
proprietorship of all things existing within the universe.
The Lord's proprietorship over everything within the universe
is confirmed in the Seventh Chapter of the Bhagavad-gétä
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(7.4-5), where parä and aparä prakåti are discussed. The

elements of nature—earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind,
intelligence and ego—all belong to the Lord's inferior,
material energy (aparä prakåti),whereas the living being, the
organic energy, is His superior energy (parä prakåti). Both of
these prakåtis, or energies, are emanations from the Lord, and
ultimately He is the controller of everything that exists. There
is nothing in the universe that does not belong to either the
parä or the aparä prakåti; therefore everything is the property
of the Supreme Being.
Because the Supreme Being, the Absolute Personality of
Godhead, is the complete person, He has complete and
perfect intelligence to adjust everything by means of His
different potencies. The Supreme Being is often compared to
a fire, and everything organic and inorganic is compared to
the heat and light of that fire. Just as fire distributes energy in
the form of heat and light, the Lord displays His energy in
different ways. He thus remains the ultimate controller,
sustainer and dictator of everything. He is the possessor of all
potencies, the knower of everything and the benefactor of
everyone. He is full of inconceivable opulence, power, fame,
beauty, knowledge and renunciation.
One should therefore be intelligent enough to know that
except for the Lord no one is a proprietor of anything. One
should accept only those things that are set aside by the Lord
as his quota. The cow, for instance, gives milk, but she does
not drink that milk: she eats grass and straw, and her milk is
designated as food for human beings. Such is the arrangement
of the Lord. Thus we should be satisfied with those things He
has kindly set aside for us, and we should always consider to
whom those things we possess actually belong.
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Take, for example, our dwelling, which is made of earth,

wood, stone, iron, cement and so many other material things.
If we think in terms of Çré Éçopaniñad, we must know that we
cannot produce any of these building materials ourselves. We
can simply bring them together and transform them into
different shapes by our labor. A laborer cannot claim to be a
proprietor of a thing just because he has worked hard to
manufacture it.
In modern society there is always a great quarrel between the
laborers and the capitalists. This quarrel has taken an
international shape, and the world is in danger. Men face one
another in enmity and snarl just like cats and dogs. Çré
Éçopaniñad cannot give advice to the cats and dogs, but it can
deliver the message of Godhead to man through the bona fide
äcäryas (holy teachers). The human race should take the
Vedic wisdom of Çré Éçopaniñad and not quarrel over material
possessions. One must be satisfied with whatever privileges
are given to him by the mercy of the Lord. There can be no
peace if the communists or capitalists or any other party
claims proprietorship over the resources of nature, which are
entirely the property of the Lord. The capitalists cannot curb
the communists simply by political maneuvering, nor can the
communists defeat the capitalists simply by fighting for stolen
bread. If they do not recognize the proprietorship of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, all the property they claim
to be their own is stolen. Consequently they will be liable to
punishment by the laws of nature. Nuclear bombs are in the
hands of both communists and capitalists, and if both do not
recognize the proprietorship of the Supreme Lord, it is
certain that these bombs will ultimately ruin both parties.
Thus in order to save themselves and bring peace to the
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world, both parties must follow the instructions of Çré

Éçopaniñad.
Human beings are not meant to quarrel like cats and dogs.
They must be intelligent enough to realize the importance
and aim of human life. The Vedic literature is meant for
humanity and not for cats and dogs. Cats and dogs can kill
other animals for food without incurring sin, but if a man kills
an animal for the satisfaction of his uncontrolled taste buds,
he is responsible for breaking the laws of nature.
Consequently he must be punished.
The standard of life for human beings cannot be applied to
animals. The tiger does not eat rice and wheat or drink cow's
milk, because he has been given food in the shape of animal
flesh. Among the many animals and birds, some are
vegetarian and others are carnivorous, but none of them
transgress the laws of nature, which have been ordained by
the will of the Lord. Animals, birds, reptiles and other lower
life forms strictly adhere to the laws of nature; therefore there
is no question of sin for them, nor are the Vedic instructions
meant for them. Human life alone is a life of responsibility.
It is wrong, however, to think that simply by becoming a
vegetarian one can avoid transgressing the laws of nature.
Vegetables also have life, and while it is nature's law that one
living being is meant to feed on another, for human beings the
point is to recognize the Supreme Lord. Thus one should not
be proud of being a strict vegetarian. Animals do not have
developed consciousness by which to recognize the Lord, but
a human being is sufficiently intelligent to take lessons from
the Vedic literature and thereby know how the laws of nature
are working and derive profit out of such knowledge. If a man
neglects the instructions of the Vedic literature, his life
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becomes very risky. A human being is therefore required to

recognize the authority of the Supreme Lord and become His
devotee. He must offer everything for the Lord's service and
partake only of the remnants of food offered to the Lord.
This will enable him to discharge his duty properly. In the
Bhagavad-gétä (9.26) the Lord directly states that He accepts
vegetarian food from the hands of a pure devotee. Therefore
a human being should not only become a strict vegetarian but
should also become a devotee of the Lord, offer the Lord all
his food and then partake of such prasädam, or the mercy of
God. Only those who act in this way can properly discharge
the duties of human life. Those who do not offer their food to
the Lord eat nothing but sin and subject themselves to various
types of distress, which are the results of sin (Bg. 3.13).
The root of sin is deliberate disobedience of the laws of
nature through disregarding the proprietorship of the Lord.
Disobeying the laws of nature or the order of the Lord brings
ruin to a human being. Conversely, one who is sober, who
knows the laws of nature, and who is not influenced by
unnecessary attachment or aversion is sure to be recognized
by the Lord and thus become eligible to go back to Godhead,
back to the eternal home.
Mantra Two
TEXT
kurvann eveha karmäëi
jijéviñec chataà samäù
evaà tvayi nänyatheto 'sti
na karma lipyate nare
SYNONYMS
kurvan—doing continuously; eva—thus; iha—during this span
of life; karmäëi—work; jijéviñet—one should desire to live;
 19

çatam—one hundred; samäù—years; evam—so living; tvayi—

unto you; na—no; anyathä—alternative; itaù—from this path;
asti—there is; na—not; karma—work; lipyate—can be bound;
nare—unto a man.
TRANSLATION
One may aspire to live for hundreds of years if he
continuously goes on working in that way, for that sort of
work will not bind him to the law of karma. There is no
alternative to this way for man.
PURPORT
No one wants to die: everyone wants to live as long as he can
drag on. This tendency is visible not only individually but also
collectively in the community, society and nation. There is a
hard struggle for life by all kinds of living entities, and the
Vedas say that this is quite natural. The living being is eternal
by nature, but due to his bondage in material existence he has
to change his body over and over. This process is called
transmigration of the soul or karma-bandhana, bondage by
one's work. The living entity has to work for his livelihood
because that is the law of material nature, and if he does not
act according to his prescribed duties, he transgresses the law
of nature and binds himself more and more to the cycle of
birth and death in the many species of life.
Other life forms are also subject to the cycle of birth and
death, but when the living entity attains a human life, he gets
a chance to get free from the chains of karma. Karma, akarma
and vikarma are very clearly described in the Bhagavad-gétä.
Actions that are performed in terms of one's prescribed
duties, as mentioned in the revealed scriptures, are called
karma. Actions that free one from the cycle of birth and
death are called akarma. And actions that are performed
 20

through the misuse of one's freedom and that direct one to

the lower life forms are called vikarma. Of these three types
of action, that which frees one from the bondage to karma is
preferred by intelligent men. Ordinary men wish to perform
good work in order to be recognized and achieve some higher
status of life in this world or in heaven, but more advanced
men want to be free altogether from the actions and reactions
of work. Intelligent men well know that both good and bad
work equally bind one to the material miseries. Consequently
they seek that work which will free them from the reactions
of both good and bad work. Such liberating work is described
here in the pages of Çré Éçopaniñad.
The instructions of Çré Éçopaniñad are more elaborately
explained in the Bhagavad-gétä, sometimes called the
Gétopaniñad, the cream of all the Upaniñads. In the
Bhagavad-gétä (3.9-16) the Personality of Godhead says that
one cannot attain the state of naiñkarmya, or akarma, without
executing the prescribed duties mentioned in the Vedic
literature. This literature can regulate the working energy of a
human being in such a way that he can gradually realize the
authority of the Supreme Being. When he realizes the
authority of the Personality of Godhead—Väsudeva, or
Kåñëa—it is to be understood that he has attained the stage of
positive knowledge. In this purified stage the modes of
nature—namely goodness, passion and ignorance—cannot
act, and he is able to work on the basis of naiñkarmya. Such
work does not bind one to the cycle of birth and death.
Factually, no one has to do anything more than render
devotional service to the Lord. However, in the lower stages
of life one cannot immediately adopt the activities of
devotional service, nor can one completely stop fruitive work.
 21

A conditioned soul is accustomed to working for sense

gratification—for his own selfish interest, immediate or
extended. An ordinary man works for his own sense
enjoyment, and when this principle of sense enjoyment is
extended to include his society, nation or humanity in general,
it assumes various attractive names such as altruism,
socialism, communism, nationalism and humanitarianism.
These "isms" are certainly very attractive forms of karma-
bandhana (karmic bondage), but the Vedic instruction of Çré
Éçopaniñad is that if one actually wants to live for any of the
above "isms," he should make them God-centered. There is
no harm in becoming a family man, or an altruist, a socialist, a
communist, a nationalist or a humanitarian, provided that one
executes his activities in relation with éçäväsya, the God-
centered conception.
In the Bhagavad-gétä (2.40) Lord Kåñëa states that God-
centered activities are so valuable that just a few of them can
save a person from the greatest danger. The greatest danger
of life is the danger of gliding down again into the
evolutionary cycle of birth and death among the 8,400,000
species. If somehow or other a man misses the spiritual
opportunity afforded by his human form of life and falls down
again into the evolutionary cycle, he must be considered most
unfortunate. Due to his defective senses, a foolish man cannot
see that this is happening. Consequently Çré Éçopaniñad
advises us to exert our energy in the spirit of éçäväsya. Being
so engaged, we may wish to live for many, many years;
otherwise a long life in itself has no value. A tree lives for
hundreds and hundreds of years, but there is no point in living
a long time like trees, or breathing like bellows, or begetting
children like hogs and dogs, or eating like camels. A humble
 22

God-centered life is more valuable than a colossal hoax of a

life dedicated to godless altruism or socialism.
When altruistic activities are executed in the spirit of Çré
Éçopaniñad, they become a form of karma-yoga. Such
activities are recommended in the Bhagavad-gétä (18.5-9), for
they guarantee their executor protection from the danger of
sliding down into the evolutionary process of birth and death.
Even though such God-centered activities may be half-
finished, they are still good for the executor because they will
guarantee him a human form in his next birth. In this way one
can have another chance to improve his position on the path
of liberation.
How one can execute God-centered activities is elaborately
explained in the Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu, by Çréla Rüpa
Gosvämé. We have rendered this book into English as The
Nectar of Devotion. We recommend this valuable book to all
who are interested in performing their activities in the spirit
of Çré Éçopaniñad.
Mantra Three
TEXT
asuryä näma te lokä
andhena tamasävåtäù
täàs te pretyäbhigacchanti
ye ke cätma-hano janäù
SYNONYMS
asuryäù—meant for the asuras; näma—famous by the name;
te—those; lokäù—planets; andhena—by ignorance; tamasä—
by darkness; ävåtäù—covered; tän—those planets; te—they;
pretya—after death; abhigacchanti—enter into; ye—anyone;
ke—everyone; ca—and; ätma-hanaù—the killers of the soul;
janäù—persons.
 23

TRANSLATION
The killer of the soul, whoever he may be, must enter into the
planets known as the worlds of the faithless, full of darkness
and ignorance.
PURPORT
Human life is distinguished from animal life due to its heavy
responsibilities. Those who are cognizant of these
responsibilities and who work in that spirit are called suras
(godly persons), and those who are neglectful of these
responsibilities or who have no information of them are called
asuras (demons). Throughout the universe there are only
these two types of human being. In the Åg Veda it is stated
that the suras always aim at the lotus feet of the Supreme
Lord Viñëu and act accordingly. Their ways are as illuminated
as the path of the sun.
Intelligent human beings must always remember that the soul
obtains a human form after an evolution of many millions of
years in the cycle of transmigration. The material world is
sometimes compared to an ocean, and the human body is
compared to a solid boat designed especially to cross this
ocean. The Vedic scriptures and the äcäryas, or saintly
teachers, are compared to expert boatmen, and the facilities
of the human body are compared to favorable breezes that
help the boat ply smoothly to its desired destination. If, with
all these facilities, a human being does not fully utilize his life
for self-realization, he must be considered ätma-hä, a killer of
the soul. Çré Éçopaniñad warns in clear terms that the killer of
the soul is destined to enter into the darkest region of
ignorance to suffer perpetually.
There are swine, dogs, camels, asses, etc., whose economic
necessities are just as important to them as ours are to us, but
 24

the economic problems of these animals are solved only

under nasty and unpleasant conditions. The human being is
given all facilities for a comfortable life by the laws of nature
because the human form of life is more important and
valuable than animal life. Why is man given a better life than
that of the swine and other animals? Why is a highly placed
government servant given better facilities than those of an
ordinary clerk? The answer is that a highly placed officer has
to discharge duties of a higher nature. Similarly, the duties
human beings have to perform are higher than those of
animals, who are always engaged in simply feeding their
hungry stomachs. Yet the modern soul-killing civilization has
only increased the problems of the hungry stomach. When we
approach a polished animal in the form of a modern civilized
man and ask him to take interest in self-realization, he will
say that he simply wants to work to satisfy his stomach and
that there is no need of self-realization for a hungry man. The
laws of nature are so cruel, however, that despite his
denunciation of the need for self-realization and his eagerness
to work hard to fill his stomach, he is always threatened by
unemployment.
We are given this human form of life not to work hard like
asses, swine and dogs but to attain the highest perfection of
life. If we do not care for self-realization, the laws of nature
force us to work very hard, even though we may not want to
do so. Human beings in this age have been forced to work
hard like the asses and bullocks that pull carts. Some of the
regions where the asuras are sent to work are revealed in this
verse of Çré Éçopaniñad. If a man fails to discharge his duties
as a human being, he is forced to transmigrate to the asurya
 25

planets and take birth in degraded species of life to work hard

in ignorance and darkness.
In the Bhagavad-gétä (6.41-43) it is stated that a man who
enters upon the path of self-realization but does not complete
the process, despite having sincerely tried to realize his
relationship with God, is given a chance to appear in a family
of çuci or çrémat. The word çuci indicates a spiritually
advanced brähmaëa, and çrémat indicates a vaiçya, a member
of the mercantile community. So the person who fails to
achieve self-realization is given a better chance in his next life
due to his sincere efforts in this life. If even a fallen candidate
is given a chance to take birth in a respectable and noble
family, one can hardly imagine the status of one who has
achieved success. By simply attempting to realize God, one is
guaranteed birth in a wealthy or aristocratic family. But those
who do not even make an attempt, who want to be covered by
illusion, who are too materialistic and too attached to
material enjoyment, must enter into the darkest regions of
hell, as confirmed throughout the Vedic literature. Such
materialistic asuras sometimes make a show of religion, but
their ultimate aim is material prosperity. The Bhagavad-gétä
(16.17-18) rebukes such men by calling them ätma-
sambhävita, meaning that they are considered great only on
the strength of deception and are empowered by the votes of
the ignorant and by their own material wealth. Such asuras,
devoid of self-realization and knowledge of éçäväsya, the
Lord's universal proprietorship, are certain to enter into the
darkest regions.
The conclusion is that as human beings we are meant not
simply for solving economic problems on a tottering platform
 26

but for solving all the problems of the material life into which
we have been placed by the laws of nature.
Mantra Four
TEXT
anejad ekaà manaso javéyo
nainad devä äpnuvan pürvam arñat
tad dhävato 'nyän atyeti tiñöhat
tasminn apo mätariçvä dadhäti
SYNONYMS
anejat—fixed; ekam—one; manasaù—than the mind;
javéyaù—more swift; na—not; enat—this Supreme Lord;
deväù—the demigods like Indra, etc.; äpnuvan—can
approach; pürvam—in front; arñat—moving quickly; tat—He;
dhävataù—those who are running; anyän—others; atyeti—
surpasses; tiñöhat—remaining in one place; tasmin—in Him;
apaù—rain; mätariçvä—the gods who control the wind and
rain; dadhäti—supply.
TRANSLATION
Although fixed in His abode, the Personality of Godhead is
swifter than the mind and can overcome all others running.
The powerful demigods cannot approach Him. Although in
one place, He controls those who supply the air and rain. He
surpasses all in excellence.
PURPORT
Through mental speculation, even the greatest philosopher
cannot know the Supreme Lord, who is the Absolute
Personality of Godhead. He can be known only by His
devotees through His mercy. In the Brahma-saàhitä (5.34) it
is stated that even if a nondevotee philosopher travels
through space at the speed of the wind or the mind for
hundreds of millions of years, he will still find that the
 27

Absolute Truth is far, far away from him. The Brahma-

saàhitä (5.37) further describes that the Absolute Personality
of Godhead has His transcendental abode, known as Goloka,
where He remains and engages
in His pastimes, yet by His inconceivable potencies He can
simultaneously reach every part of His creative energy. In the
Viñëu Puräëa His potencies are compared to the heat and
light that emanate from a fire. Although situated in one place,
a fire can distribute its light and heat for some distance;
similarly, the Absolute Personality of Godhead, although
fixed in His transcendental abode, can diffuse His different
energies everywhere.
Although His energies are innumerable, they can be divided
into three principal categories: the internal potency, the
marginal potency and the external potency. There are
hundreds and millions of subheadings to each of these
categories. The dominating demigods who are empowered to
control and administer such natural phenomena as air, light
and rain are all classified within the marginal potency of the
Absolute Person. Lesser living beings, including humans, also
belong to the Lord's marginal potency. The material world is
the creation of the Lord's external potency. And the spiritual
sky, where the kingdom of God is situated, is the
manifestation of His internal potency.
Thus the different energies of the Lord are present
everywhere. Although the Lord and His energies are
nondifferent, one should not mistake these energies for the
Supreme Truth. Nor should one wrongly consider that the
Supreme Lord is distributed everywhere impersonally or that
He loses His personal existence. Men are accustomed to
reach conclusions according to their capacity for
 28

understanding, but the Supreme Lord is not subject to our

limited capacity for understanding. It is for this reason that
the Upaniñads warn us that no one can approach the Lord by
his own limited potency.
In the Bhagavad-gétä (10.2) the Lord says that not even the
great åñis and suras can know Him. And what to speak of the
asuras, for whom there is no question of understanding the
ways of the Lord? This fourth mantra of Çré Éçopaniñad very
clearly suggests that the Absolute Truth is ultimately the
Absolute Person; otherwise there would have been no need to
mention so many details in support of His personal features.
Although the individual parts and parcels of the Lord's
potencies have all the symptoms of the Lord Himself, they
have limited spheres of activity and are therefore all limited.
The parts and parcels are never equal to the whole; therefore
they cannot appreciate the Lord's full potency. Under the
influence of material nature, foolish and ignorant living
beings who are but parts and parcels of the Lord try to
conjecture about the Lord's transcendental position. Çré
Éçopaniñad warns of the futility of trying to establish the
identity of the Lord through mental speculation. One should
try to learn of the Transcendence from the Lord Himself, the
supreme source of the Vedas, for the Lord alone has full
knowledge of the Transcendence.
Every part and parcel of the Complete Whole is endowed
with some particular energy to act according to the Lord's
will. When the part-and-parcel living entity forgets his
particular activities under the Lord's will, he is considered to
be in mäyä, illusion. Thus from the very beginning Çré
Éçopaniñad warns us to be very careful to play the part
designated for us by the Lord. This does not mean that the
 29

individual soul has no initiative of his own. Because he is part

and parcel of the Lord, he must partake of the initiative of the
Lord as well. When a person properly utilizes his initiative, or
active nature, with intelligence, understanding that everything
is the Lord's potency, he can revive his original consciousness,
which was lost due to association with mäyä, the external
energy.
All power is obtained from the Lord; therefore each
particular power must be utilized to execute the will of the
Lord and not otherwise. The Lord can be known by one who
has adopted such a submissive service attitude. Perfect
knowledge means knowing the Lord in all His features,
knowing His potencies and knowing how these potencies
work by His will. These matters are described by the Lord in
the Bhagavad-gétä, the essence of all the Upaniñads.
Mantra Five
TEXT
tad ejati tan naijati
tad düre tad v antike
tad antar asya sarvasya
tad u sarvasyäsya bähyataù
SYNONYMS
tat—this Supreme Lord; ejati—walks; tat—He; na—not;
ejati—walks; tat—He; düre—far away; tat—He; u—also;
antike—very near; tat—He; antaù—within; asya—of this;
sarvasya—of all; tat—He; u—also; sarvasya—of all; asya—of
this; bähyataù—external to.
TRANSLATION
The Supreme Lord walks and does not walk. He is far away,
but He is very near as well. He is within everything, and yet
He is outside of everything.
 30

PURPORT
Here is a description of some of the Supreme Lord's
transcendental activities, executed by His inconceivable
potencies. The contradictions given here prove the
inconceivable potencies of the Lord. "He walks, and He does
not walk." Ordinarily, if someone can walk, it is illogical to
say he cannot walk. But in reference to God, such a
contradiction simply serves to indicate His inconceivable
power. With our limited fund of knowledge we cannot
accommodate such contradictions, and therefore we conceive
of the Lord in terms of our limited powers of understanding.
For example, the impersonalist philosophers of the Mäyäväda
school accept only the Lord's impersonal activities and reject
His personal feature. But the members of the Bhägavata
school, adopting the perfect conception of the Lord, accept
His inconceivable potencies and thus understand that He is
both personal and impersonal. The bhägavatas know that
without inconceivable potencies there can be no meaning to
the words "Supreme Lord."
We should not take it for granted that because we cannot see
God with our eyes the Lord has no personal existence. Çré
Éçopaniñad refutes this argument by declaring that the Lord is
far away but very near also. The abode of the Lord is beyond
the material sky, and we have no means to measure even this
material sky. If the material sky extends so far, then what to
speak of the spiritual sky, which is altogether beyond it? That
the spiritual sky is situated far, far away from the material
universe is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä (15.6). But despite
the Lord's being so far away, He can at once, within less than
a second, descend before us with a speed swifter than that of
the mind or wind. He can also run so swiftly that no one can
 31

surpass Him. This has already been described in the previous

verse.
Yet when the Personality of Godhead comes before us, we
neglect Him. Such foolish negligence is condemned by the
Lord in the Bhagavad-gétä (9.11), where He says that the
foolish deride Him, considering Him a mortal being. He is not
a mortal being, nor does He come before us with a body
produced of material nature. There are many so-called
scholars who contend that the Lord descends in a body made
of matter, just like an ordinary living being. Not knowing His
inconceivable power, such foolish men place the Lord on an
equal level with ordinary men.
Because He is full of inconceivable potencies, God can accept
our service through any sort of medium, and He can convert
His different potencies according to His own will.
Nonbelievers argue either that the Lord cannot incarnate
Himself at all, or that if He does He descends in a form of
material energy. These arguments are nullified if we accept
the existence of the Lord's inconceivable potencies. Then we
will understand that even if the Lord appears before us in the
form of material energy, it is quite possible for Him to
convert this energy into spiritual energy. Since the source of
the energies is one and the same, the energies can be utilized
according to the will of their source. For example, the Lord
can appear in the form of the arcä-vigraha, a Deity
supposedly made of earth, stone or wood. Deity forms,
although engraved from wood, stone or other matter, are not
idols, as the iconoclasts contend.
In our present state of imperfect material existence, we
cannot see the Supreme Lord due to imperfect vision. Yet
those devotees who want to see Him by means of material
 32

vision are favored by the Lord, who appears in a so-called

material form to accept His devotees' service. One should not
think that such devotees, who are in the lowest stage of
devotional service, are worshiping an idol. They are factually
worshiping the Lord, who has agreed to appear before them
in an approachable way. Nor is the arcä form fashioned
according to the whims of the worshiper. This form is
eternally existent with all paraphernalia. This can be actually
felt by a sincere devotee, but not by an atheist.
In the Bhagavad-gétä (4.11) the Lord says that how He treats
His devotee depends on the devotee's degree of surrender.
The Lord reserves the right not to reveal Himself to anyone
and everyone but to show Himself only to those souls who
surrender unto Him. Thus for the surrendered soul He is
always within reach, whereas for the unsurrendered soul He is
far, far away and cannot be approached.
In this connection, two words the revealed scriptures often
apply to the Lord—saguëa ("with qualities") and nirguëa
("without qualities")—are very important. The word saguëa
does not imply that when the Lord appears with perceivable
qualities He must take on a material form and be subject to
the laws of material nature. For Him there is no difference
between the material and spiritual energies, because He is the
source of all energies. As the controller of all energies, He
cannot at any time be under their influence, as we are. The
material energy works according to His direction; therefore
He can use that energy for His purposes without ever being
influenced by any of the qualities of that energy. (In this sense
He is nirguëa, "without qualities.") Nor does the Lord
become a formless entity at any time, for ultimately He is the
eternal form, the primeval Lord. His impersonal aspect, or
 33

Brahman effulgence, is but the glow of His personal rays, just

as the sun's rays are the glow of the sun-god.
When the child saint Prahläda Mahäräja was in the presence
of his atheist father, his father asked him, "Where is your
God?" When Prahläda replied that God resides everywhere,
the father angrily asked whether his God was within one of
the pillars of the palace, and the child said yes. At once the
atheist king shattered the pillar in front of him to pieces, and
the Lord instantly appeared as Nåsiàha, the half-man, half-
lion incarnation, and killed the atheist king. Thus the Lord is
within everything, and He creates everything by His different
energies. Through His inconceivable powers He can appear at
any place in order to favor His sincere devotee. Lord Nåsiàha
appeared from within the pillar not by the order of the atheist
king but by the wish of His devotee Prahläda. An atheist
cannot order the Lord to appear, but the Lord will appear
anywhere and everywhere to show mercy to His devotee. The
Bhagavad-gétä (4.8) similarly states that the Lord appears in
order to vanquish nonbelievers and protect believers. Of
course, the Lord has sufficient energies and agents who can
vanquish atheists, but it pleases Him to personally favor a
devotee. Therefore He descends as an incarnation. Actually,
He descends only to favor His devotees and not for any other
purpose.
In the Brahma-saàhitä (5.35) it is said that Govinda, the
primeval Lord, enters everything by His plenary portion. He
enters the universe as well as all the atoms of the universe. He
is outside in His viräö form, and He is within everything as
antaryämé. As antaryämé He witnesses everything that is
going on, and He awards us the results of our actions as
karma-phala. We ourselves may forget what we have done in
 34

previous lives, but because the Lord witnesses our actions, the
results of our actions are always there, and we have to
undergo the reactions nonetheless.
The fact is that there is nothing but God within and without.
Everything is a manifestation of His different energies, like
the heat and light emanating from a fire, and in this way there
is a oneness among His diverse energies. Although there is
oneness, however, the Lord in His personal form still enjoys
unlimitedly all the pleasures enjoyed minutely by the tiny
part-and-parcel living entities.
Mantra Six
TEXT
yas tu sarväëi bhütäny
ätmany evänupaçyati
sarva-bhüteñu cätmänaà
tato na vijugupsate
SYNONYMS
yaù—he who; tu—but; sarväëi—all; bhütäni—living entities;
ätmani—in relation to the Supreme Lord; eva—only;
anupaçyati—observes in a systematic way; sarva-bhüteñu—in
every living being; ca—and; ätmänam—the Supersoul; tataù—
thereafter; na—not; vijugupsate—hates anyone.
TRANSLATION
He who sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord, who
sees all living entities as His parts and parcels, and who sees
the Supreme Lord within everything never hates anything or
any being.
PURPORT
This is a description of the mahä-bhägavata, the great
personality who sees everything in relation to the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Lord's presence is
 35

realized in three stages. The kaniñöha-adhikäré is in the lowest

stage of realization. He goes to a place of worship, such as a
temple, church or mosque, according to his religious faith,
and worships there according to scriptural injunctions.
Devotees in this stage consider the Lord to be present at the
place of worship and nowhere else. They cannot ascertain
who is in what position in devotional service, nor can they tell
who has realized the Supreme Lord. Such devotees follow the
routine formulas and sometimes quarrel among themselves,
considering one type of devotion better than another. These
kaniñöha-adhikärés are actually materialistic devotees who are
simply trying to transcend the material boundary to reach the
spiritual plane.
Those who have attained the second stage of realization are
called madhyama-adhikärés. These devotees observe the
distinctions between four categories of being: (1) the
Supreme Lord; (2) the devotees of the Lord; (3) the innocent,
who have no knowledge of the Lord; and (4) the atheists, who
have no faith in the Lord and hate those in devotional service.
The madhyama-adhikäré behaves differently toward these
four classes of person. He adores the Lord, considering Him
the object of love; he makes friends with those who are in
devotional service; he tries to awaken the dormant love of
God in the hearts of the innocent; and he avoids the atheists,
who deride the very name of the Lord.
Above the madhyama-adhikäré is the uttama-adhikäré, who
sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord. Such a
devotee does not discriminate between an atheist and a theist
but sees everyone as part and parcel of God. He knows that
there is no essential difference between a vastly learned
brähmaëa and a dog in the street, because both of them are
 36

part and parcel of the Lord, although they are encaged in

different bodies on account of the different qualities of their
activities in their previous lives. He sees that the brähmaëa
particle of the Supreme Lord has not misused his little
independence given him by the Lord and that the dog particle
has misused his independence and is therefore being punished
by the laws of nature by being encaged in the form of a dog.
Not considering the respective actions of the brähmaëa and
the dog, the uttama-adhikäré tries to do good to both. Such a
learned devotee is not misled by material bodies but is
attracted by the spiritual spark within them.
Those who imitate an uttama-adhikäré by flaunting a sense of
oneness or fellowship but who behave on the bodily platform
are actually false philanthropists. The conception of universal
brotherhood must be learned from an uttama-adhikäré and
not from a foolish person who does not properly understand
the individual soul or the Supreme Lord's Supersoul
expansion, who dwells everywhere.
It is clearly mentioned in this sixth mantra that one should
"observe," or systematically see. This means that one must
follow the previous äcäryas, the perfected teachers.
Anupaçyati is the exact Sanskrit word used in this connection.
Anu means "to follow," and paçyati means "to observe."
Thus the word anupaçyati means that one should not see
things as he does with the naked eye but should follow the
previous äcäryas. Due to material defects, the naked eye
cannot see anything properly. One cannot see properly unless
one has heard from a superior source, and the highest source
is the Vedic wisdom, which is spoken by the Lord Himself.
Vedic truths are coming in disciplic succession from the Lord
to Brahmä, from Brahmä to Närada, from Närada to Vyäsa,
 37

and from Vyäsa to many of his disciples. Formerly there was

no need to record the messages of the Vedas, because people
in earlier ages were more intelligent and had sharper
memories. They could follow the instructions simply by
hearing once from the mouth of a bona fide spiritual master.
At present there are many commentaries on the revealed
scriptures, but most of them are not in the line of disciplic
succession coming from Çréla Vyäsadeva, who originally
compiled the Vedic wisdom. The final, most perfect and
sublime work by Çréla Vyäsadeva is Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
which is the natural commentary on the Vedänta-sütra. There
is also the Bhagavad-gétä, which was spoken by the Lord
Himself and recorded by Vyäsadeva. These are the most
important revealed scriptures, and any
commentary that contradicts the principles of the Bhagavad-
gétä or Çrémad-Bhägavatam is unauthorized. There is
complete agreement among the Upaniñads, Vedänta-sütra,
Vedas, Bhagavad-gétä and Çrémad-Bhägavatam, and no one
should try to reach any conclusion about the Vedas without
receiving instructions from members of Vyäsadeva's disciplic
succession, who believe in the Personality of Godhead and
His diverse energies as they are explained in Çré Éçopaniñad.
According to the Bhagavad-gétä (18.54), only one who is
already on the liberated platform (brahma-bhüta [SB
4.30.20]) can become an uttama-adhikäré devotee and see
every living being as his own brother. This vision cannot be
had by politicians, who are always after some material gain.
One who imitates the symptoms of an uttama-adhikäré may
serve another's outward body for the purpose of fame or
material reward, but he does not serve the spirit soul. Such an
imitator can have no information of the spiritual world. The
 38

uttama-adhikäré sees the spirit soul within the material body

and serves him as spirit. Thus the material aspect is
automatically served.
Mantra Seven
TEXT
yasmin sarväëi bhütäny
ätmaiväbhüd vijänataù
tatra ko mohaù kaù çoka
ekatvam anupaçyataù
SYNONYMS
yasmin—in the situation; sarväëi—all; bhütäni—living
entities; ätmä—the cit-kaëa, or spiritual spark; eva—only;
abhüt—exist as; vijänataù—of one who knows; tatra—therein;
kaù—what; mohaù—illusion; kaù—what; çokaù—anxiety;
ekatvam—oneness in quality; anupaçyataù—of one who sees
through authority, or one who sees constantly like that.
TRANSLATION
One who always sees all living entities as spiritual sparks, in
quality one with the Lord, becomes a true knower of things.
What, then, can be illusion or anxiety for him?
PURPORT
Except for the madhyama-adhikäré and uttama-adhikäré
discussed above, no one can correctly see the spiritual
position of a living being. The living entities are qualitatively
one with the Supreme Lord, just as the sparks of a fire are
qualitatively one with the fire. Yet sparks are not fire as far as
quantity is concerned, for the quantity of heat and light
present in the sparks is not equal to that in fire. The mahä-
bhägavata, the great devotee, sees oneness in the sense that
he sees everything as the energy of the Supreme Lord. Since
there is no difference between the energy and the energetic,
 39

there is the sense of oneness. Although from the analytical

point of view heat and light are different from fire, there is no
meaning to the word "fire" without heat and light. In
synthesis, therefore, heat, light and fire are the same.
In this mantra the words ekatvam anupaçyataù indicate that
one should see the unity of all living entities from the
viewpoint of the revealed scriptures. The individual sparks of
the supreme whole (the Lord) possess almost eighty percent
of the known qualities of the whole, but they are not
quantitatively equal to the Supreme Lord. These qualities are
present in minute quantity, for the living entity is but a minute
part and parcel of the supreme whole. To use another
analogy, the quantity of salt present in a drop is never
comparable to the quantity of salt present in the complete
ocean, but the salt present in the drop is qualitatively equal in
chemical composition to all the salt present in the ocean. If
the individual living being were equal to the Supreme Lord
both qualitatively and quantitatively, there would be no
question of his being under the influence of the material
energy. In the previous mantras it has already been discussed
that no living being-not even the powerful demigods-can
surpass the Supreme Being in any respect. Therefore ekatvam
does not mean that a living being is equal in all respects to the
Supreme Lord. It does, however, indicate that in a broader
sense there is one interest, just as in a family the interest of all
members is one, or in a nation the national interest is one,
although there are many different individual citizens. Since
the living entities are all members of the same supreme
family, their interest and that of the Supreme Being are not
different. Every living being is the son of the Supreme Being.
As stated in the Bhagavad-gétä (7.5), all living creatures
 40

throughout the universe-including birds, reptiles, ants,

aquatics, trees and so on-are emanations of the marginal
potency of the Supreme Lord. Therefore all of them belong
to the family of the Supreme Being. There is no clash of
interest.
The spiritual entities are meant for enjoyment, as stated in the
Vedänta-sütra (1.1.12): änanda-mayo 'bhyäsät. By nature and
constitution, every living being-including the Supreme Lord
and each of His parts and parcels-is meant for eternal
enjoyment. The living beings who are encaged in the material
tabernacle are constantly seeking enjoyment, but they are
seeking it on the wrong platform. Apart from the material
platform is the spiritual platform, where the Supreme Being
enjoys Himself with His innumerable associates. On that
platform there is no trace of material qualities, and therefore
that platform is called nirguëa. On the nirguëa platform there
is never a clash over the object of enjoyment. Here in the
material world there is always a clash between different
individual beings because here the proper center of
enjoyment is missed. The real center of enjoyment is the
Supreme Lord, who is the center of the sublime and spiritual
räsa dance. We are all meant to join Him and enjoy life with
one transcendental interest and without any clash. That is the
highest platform of spiritual interest, and as soon as one
realizes this perfect form of oneness, there can be no question
of illusion (moha) or lamentation (çoka).
A godless civilization arises from illusion, and the result of
such a civilization is lamentation. A godless civilization, such
as that sponsored by the modern politicians, is always full of
anxieties because it may be crushed at any moment. That is
the law of nature. As stated in the Bhagavad-gétä (7.14), no
 41

one but those who surrender at the lotus feet of the Supreme
Lord can surpass the stringent laws of nature. Thus if we wish
to get rid of all sorts of illusion and anxiety and create unity
out of all diverse interests, we must bring God into all our
activities.
The results of our activities must be used to serve the interest
of the Lord, and not for any other purpose. Only by serving
the Lord's interest can we perceive the ätma-bhüta interest
mentioned herein. The ätma-bhüta interest mentioned in this
mantra and the brahma-bhüta [SB 4.30.20] interest mentioned
in the Bhagavad-gétä (18.54) are one and the same. The
supreme ätmä, or soul, is the Lord Himself, and the minute
ätmä is the living entity. The supreme ätmä, or Paramätmä,
alone maintains all the individual minute beings, for the
Supreme Lord wants to derive pleasure out of their affection.
The father extends himself through his children and maintains
them in order to derive pleasure. If the children obey the
father's will, family affairs will run smoothly, with one interest
and a pleasing atmosphere. The same situation is
transcendentally arranged in the absolute family of the
Parabrahman, the Supreme Spirit.
The Parabrahman is as much a person as the individual
entities. Neither the Lord nor the living entities are
impersonal. Such transcendental personalities are full of
transcendental bliss, knowledge and life eternal. That is the
real position of spiritual existence, and as soon as one is fully
cognizant of this transcendental position, he at once
surrenders unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Being, Çré
Kåñëa. But such a mahätmä, or great soul, is very rarely seen
because such transcendental realization is achieved only after
many, many births. Once it is attained, however, there is no
 42

longer any illusion or lamentation or the miseries of material

existence or birth and death, which are all experienced in our
present life. That is the information we get from this mantra
of Çré Éçopaniñad.
Mantra Eight
TEXT
sa paryagäc chukram akäyam avraëam
asnäviram çuddham apäpa-viddham
kavir manéñé paribhüù svayambhür
yäthätathyato 'rthän vyadadhäc chäçvatébhyaù samäbhyaù
SYNONYMS
saù—that person; paryagät—must know in fact; çukram—the
omnipotent; akäyam—unembodied; avraëam—without
reproach; asnäviram—without veins; çuddham—antiseptic;
apäpa-viddham—prophylactic; kaviù—omniscient; manéñé—
philosopher; paribhüù—the greatest of all; svayambhüù—self-
sufficient; yäthätathyataù—just in pursuance of; arthän—
desirables; vyadadhät—awards; çäçvatébhyaù—immemorial;
samäbhyaù—time.
TRANSLATION
Such a person must factually know the greatest of all, the
Personality of Godhead, who is unembodied, omniscient,
beyond reproach, without veins, pure and uncontaminated,
the self-sufficient philosopher who has been fulfilling
everyone's desire since time immemorial.
PURPORT
Here is a description of the transcendental and eternal form
of the Absolute Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Lord
is not formless. He has His own transcendental form, which is
not at all similar to the forms of the mundane world. The
forms of the living entities in this world are embodied in
 43

material nature, and they work like any material machine.

The anatomy of a material body must have a mechanical
construction with veins and so forth, but the transcendental
body of the Supreme Lord has nothing like veins. It is clearly
stated here that He is un-embodied, which means that there is
no difference between His body and His soul. Nor is He
forced to accept a body according to the laws of nature, as we
are. In materially conditioned life, the soul is different from
the gross embodiment and subtle mind. For the Supreme
Lord, however, there is never any such difference between
Him and His body and mind. He is the Complete Whole, and
His mind, body and He Himself are all one and the same.
In the Brahma-saàhitä (5.1) there is a similar description of
the Supreme Lord. He is described there as sac-cid-änanda-
vigraha, which means that He is the eternal form fully
representing transcendental existence, knowledge and bliss.
As such, He does not require a separate body or mind, as we
do in material existence. The Vedic literature clearly states
that the Lord's transcendental body is completely different
from ours; thus He is sometimes described as formless. This
means that He has no form like ours and that He is devoid of
a form we can conceive of. In the Brahma-saàhitä (5.32) it is
further stated that with each and every part of His body He
can do the work of the other senses. This means that the Lord
can walk with His hands, accept things with His legs, see with
His hands and feet, eat with His eyes, etc. In the çruti-mantras
it is also said that although the Lord has no hands and legs
like ours, He has a different type of hands and legs, by which
He can accept all that we offer Him and run faster than
anyone. These points are confirmed in this eighth mantra
through the use of words like çukram ("omnipotent").
 44

The Lord's worshipable form (arcä-vigraha), which is

installed in temples by authorized äcäryas who have realized
the Lord in terms of Mantra Seven, is nondifferent from the
original form of the Lord. The Lord's original form is that of
Çré Kåñëa, and Çré Kåñëa expands Himself into an unlimited
number of forms, such as Baladeva, Räma, Nåsiàha and
Varäha. All of these forms are one and the same Personality
of Godhead. Similarly, the arcä-vigraha worshiped in temples
is also an expanded form of the Lord. By worshiping the arcä-
vigraha, one can at once approach the Lord, who accepts the
service of a devotee by His omnipotent energy. The arcä-
vigraha of the Lord descends at the request of the äcäryas,
the holy teachers, and works exactly in the original way of the
Lord by virtue of the Lord's omnipotence. Foolish people
who have no knowledge of Çré Éçopaniñad or any of the other
çruti-mantras consider the arcä-vigraha, which is worshiped
by pure devotees, to be made of material elements. This form
may be seen as material by the imperfect eyes of foolish
people or kaniñöha-adhikärés, but such people do not know
that the Lord, being omnipotent and omniscient, can
transform matter into spirit and spirit into matter, as He
desires.
In the Bhagavad-gétä (9.11-12) the Lord regrets the fallen
condition of men with little knowledge who deride Him
because He descends like a man into this world. Such poorly
informed persons do not know the omnipotence of the Lord.
Thus the Lord does not manifest Himself in full to the mental
speculators. He can be appreciated only in proportion to
one's surrender to Him. The fallen condition of the living
entities is due entirely to forgetfulness of their relationship
with God.
 45

In this mantra, as well as in many other Vedic mantras, it is

clearly stated that the Lord has been supplying goods to the
living entities from time immemorial. A living being desires
something, and the Lord supplies the object of that desire in
proportion to one's qualification. If a man wants to be a high-
court judge, he must acquire not only the necessary
qualifications but also the consent of the authority who can
award the title of high-court judge. The qualifications in
themselves are insufficient for one to occupy the post: it must
be awarded by some superior authority. Similarly, the Lord
awards enjoyment to living entities in proportion to their
qualifications, but good qualifications in themselves are not
sufficient to enable one to receive awards. The mercy of the
Lord is also required.
Ordinarily the living being does not know what to ask from
the Lord, nor which post to seek. When the living being
comes to know his constitutional position, however, he asks to
be accepted into the transcendental association of the Lord in
order to render transcendental loving service unto Him.
Unfortunately, living beings under the influence of material
nature ask for many other things, and they are described in
the Bhagavad-gétä (2.41) as having divided, or splayed,
intelligence. Spiritual intelligence is one, but mundane
intelligence is diverse. In Çrémad-Bhägavatam (7.5.30-31) it is
stated that those who are captivated by the temporary
beauties of the external energy forget the real aim of life,
which is to go back to Godhead. Forgetting this, one tries to
adjust things by various plans and programs, but this is like
chewing what has already been chewed. Nonetheless, the
Lord is so kind that He allows the forgetful living entity to
continue in this way without interference. Thus this mantra of
 46

Çré Éçopaniñad uses the very appropriate word yäthätathyataù,

indicating that the Lord rewards the living entities just in
pursuance of their desires. If a living being wants to go to hell,
the Lord allows him to do so without interference, and if he
wants to go back home, back to Godhead, the Lord helps
him.
God is described here as paribhüù, the greatest of all. No one
is greater than or equal to Him. Other living beings are
described here as beggars who ask goods from the Lord. The
Lord supplies the things the living entities desire. If the
entities were equal to the Lord in potency-if they were
omnipotent and omniscient—there would be no question of
their begging from the Lord, even for so-called liberation.
Real liberation means going back to Godhead. Liberation as
conceived of by an impersonalist is a myth, and begging for
sense gratification has to continue eternally unless the beggar
comes to his spiritual senses and realizes his constitutional
position.
Only the Supreme Lord is self-sufficient. When Lord Kåñëa
appeared on earth five thousand years ago, He displayed His
full manifestation as the Personality of Godhead through His
various activities. In His childhood He killed many powerful
demons, such as Aghäsura, Bakäsura and Çakaöäsura, and
there was no question of His having acquired such power
through any extraneous endeavor. He lifted Govardhana Hill
without ever practicing weight-lifting. He danced with the
gopés without social restriction and without reproach.
Although the gopés approached Him with a paramour's
feelings of love, the relationship between the gopés and Lord
Kåñëa was worshiped even by Lord Caitanya, who was a strict
sannyäsé and rigid follower of disciplinary regulations. To
 47

confirm that the Lord is always pure and uncontaminated, Çré

Éçopaniñad describes Him as çuddham (antiseptic) and apäpa-
viddham (prophylactic). He is antiseptic in the sense that
even an impure thing can become purified just by touching
Him. The word "prophylactic" refers to the power of His
association. As mentioned in the Bhagavad-gétä (9.30-31), a
devotee may appear to be su-duräcära, not well behaved, in
the beginning, but he should be accepted as pure because he
is on the right path. This is due to the prophylactic nature of
the Lord's association. The Lord is also apäpa-viddham
because sin cannot touch Him. Even if He acts in a way that
appears to be sinful, such actions are all-good, for there is no
question of His being affected by sin. Because in all
circumstances He is çuddham, most purified, He is often
compared to the sun. The sun extracts moisture from many
untouchable places on the earth, yet it remains pure. In fact, it
purifies obnoxious things by virtue of its sterilizing powers. If
the sun, which is a material object, is so powerful, then we can
hardly begin to imagine the purifying strength of the all-
powerful Lord.
Mantra Nine
TEXT
andhaà tamaù praviçanti
ye 'vidyäm upäsate
tato bhüya iva te tamo
ya u vidyäyäm ratäù
SYNONYMS
andham—gross ignorance; tamaù—darkness; praviçanti—
enter into; ye—those who; avidyäm—nescience; upäsate—
worship; tataù—than that; bhüyaù—still more; iva—like; te—
 48

they; tamaù—darkness; ye—those who; u—also; vidyäyäm—

in the culture of knowledge; ratäù—engaged.
TRANSLATION
Those who engage in the culture of nescient activities shall
enter into the darkest region of ignorance. Worse still are
those engaged in the culture of so-called knowledge.
PURPORT
This mantra offers a comparative study of vidyä and avidyä.
Avidyä, or ignorance, is undoubtedly dangerous, but vidyä, or
knowledge, is even more dangerous when mistaken or
misguided. This mantra of Çré Éçopaniñad is more applicable
today than at any time in the past. Modern civilization has
advanced considerably in the field of mass education, but the
result is that people are more unhappy than ever before
because of the stress placed on material advancement to the
exclusion of the most important part of life, the spiritual
aspect.
As far as vidyä is concerned, the first mantra has explained
very clearly that the Supreme Lord is the proprietor of
everything and that forgetfulness of this fact is ignorance. The
more a man forgets this fact of life, the more he is in
darkness. In view of this, a godless civilization directed
toward the so-called advancement of education is more
dangerous than a civilization in which the masses of people
are less "educated."
Of the different classes of men-karmés, jïänés and yogés—the
karmés are those who are engaged in the activities of sense
gratification. In the modern civilization, 99.9 percent of the
people are engaged in the activities of sense gratification
under the flags of industrialism, economic development,
altruism, political activism, and so on. All these activities are
 49

more or less based on satisfaction of the senses, to the

exclusion of the kind of God consciousness described in the
first mantra.
In the language of the Bhagavad-gétä (7.15), people who are
engaged in gross sense gratification are müòhas-asses. The ass
is a symbol of stupidity. Those who simply engage in the
profitless pursuit of sense gratification are worshiping avidyä,
according to Çré Éçopaniñad. And those who play the role of
helping this sort of civilization in the name of educational
advancement are actually doing more harm than those who
are on the platform of gross sense gratification. The
advancement of learning by a godless people is as dangerous
as a valuable jewel on the hood of a cobra. A cobra decorated
with a valuable jewel is more dangerous than one not
decorated. In the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya (3. 11.12), the
advancement of education by a godless people is compared to
decorations on a dead body. In India, as in many other
countries, some people follow the custom of leading a
procession with a decorated dead body for the pleasure of the
lamenting relatives. In the same way, modern civilization is a
patchwork of activities meant to cover the perpetual miseries
of material existence. All such activities are aimed toward
sense gratification. But above the senses is the mind, and
above the mind is the intelligence, and above the intelligence
is the soul. Thus the aim of real education should be self-
realization, realization of the spiritual values of the soul. Any
education which does not lead to such realization must be
considered avidyä, or nescience. And to culture such
nescience means to go down to the darkest region of
ignorance.
 50

According to the Bhagavad-gétä (2.42, 7.15), mistaken

mundane educators are known as veda-väda-rata and
mäyayäpahåta-jïäna. They may also be atheistic demons, the
lowest of men. Those who are veda-väda-rata pose
themselves as very learned in the Vedic literature, but
unfortunately they are completely diverted from the purpose
of the Vedas. In the Bhagavad-gétä (15.15) it is said that the
purpose of the Vedas is to know the Personality of Godhead,
but these veda-väda-rata men are not at all interested in the
Personality of Godhead. On the contrary, they are fascinated
by such fruitive results as the attainment of heaven.
As stated in Mantra One, we should know that the
Personality of Godhead is the proprietor of everything and
that we must be satisfied with our allotted portions of the
necessities of life. The purpose of all Vedic literature is to
awaken this God consciousness in the forgetful living being,
and this same purpose is presented in various ways in the
different scriptures of the world for the understanding of a
foolish mankind. Thus the ultimate purpose of all religions is
to bring one back to Godhead.
But the veda-väda-rata people, instead of realizing that the
purpose of the Vedas is to revive the forgetful soul's lost
relationship with the Personality of Godhead, take it for
granted that such side issues as the attainment of heavenly
pleasure for sense gratification—the lust for which causes
their material bondage in the first place-are the ultimate end
of the Vedas. Such people misguide others by misinterpreting
the Vedic literature. Sometimes they even condemn the
Puräëas, which are authentic Vedic explanations for laymen.
The veda-väda-ratas give their own explanations of the
Vedas, neglecting the authority of great teachers (äcäryas).
 51

They also tend to raise some unscrupulous person from

among themselves and present him as the leading exponent of
Vedic knowledge. Such veda-väda-ratas are especially
condemned in this mantra by the very appropriate Sanskrit
words vidyäyäà ratäù. Vidyäyäm refers to the study of the
Vedas because the Vedas are the origin of all knowledge
(vidyä), and ratäù means "those engaged." Vidyäyäà ratäù
thus means "those engaged in the study of the Vedas." The
so-called students of the Vedas are condemned herein
because they are ignorant of the actual purpose of the Vedas
on account of their disobeying the äcäryas. Such veda-väda-
ratas search out meanings in every word of the Vedas to suit
their own purposes. They do not know that the Vedic
literature is a collection of extraordinary books that can be
understood only through the chain of disciplic succession.
One must approach a bona fide spiritual master in order to
understand the transcendental message of the Vedas. That is
the direction of the Muëòaka Upaniñad (1.2.12). These veda-
väda-rata people, however, have their own äcäryas, who are
not in the chain of transcendental succession. Thus they
progress into the darkest region of ignorance by
misinterpreting the Vedic literature. They fall even further
into ignorance than those who have no knowledge of the
Vedas at all.
The mäyayäpahåta-jïäna class of men are self-made "Gods."
Such men think that they themselves are God and that there
is no need of worshiping any other God. They will agree to
worship an ordinary man if he happens to be rich, but they
will never worship the Personality of Godhead. Such men,
unable to recognize their own foolishness, never consider how
it is that God can be entrapped by mäyä, His own illusory
 52

energy. If God were ever entrapped by mäyä, mäyä would be

more powerful than God. Such men say that God is all-
powerful, but they do not consider that if He is all-powerful
there is no possibility of His being overpowered by mäyä.
These self-made "Gods" cannot answer all these questions
very clearly; they are simply satisfied to have become "God"
themselves.
Mantra Ten
TEXT
anyad evähur vidyayä-
nyad ähur avidyayä
iti çuçruma dhéräëäà
ye nas tad vicacakñire
SYNONYMS
anyat—different; eva—certainly; ähuù—said; vid-yayä—by
culture of knowledge; anyat—different; ähuù—said;
avidyayä—by culture of nescience; iti—thus; çuçruma—I
heard; dhéräëäm—from the sober; ye—who; naù—to us; tat—
that; vicacakñire—explained.
TRANSLATION
The wise have explained that one result is derived from the
culture of knowledge and that a different result is obtained
from the culture of nescience.
PURPORT
As advised in Chapter Thirteen of the Bhagavad-gétä (13.8-
12), one should culture knowledge in the following way:
(1) One should become a perfect gentleman and learn to give
proper respect to others.
(2) One should not pose himself as a religionist simply for
name and fame.
 53

(3) One should not become a source of anxiety to others by

the actions of his body, by the thoughts of his mind, or by his
words.
(4) One should learn forbearance even in the face of
provocation from others.
(5) One should learn to avoid duplicity in his dealings with
others.
(6) One should search out a bona fide spiritual master who
can lead him gradually to the stage of spiritual realization,
and one must submit himself to such a spiritual master,
render him service and ask relevant questions.
(7) In order to approach the platform of self-realization, one
must follow the regulative principles enjoined in the revealed
scriptures.
(8) One must be fixed in the tenets of the revealed scriptures.
(9) One should completely refrain from practices which are
detrimental to the interest of self-realization.
(10) One should not accept more than he requires for the
maintenance of the body.
(11) One should not falsely identify himself with the gross
material body, nor should one consider those who are related
to his body to be his own.
(12) One should always remember that as long as he has a
material body he must face the miseries of repeated birth, old
age, disease and death. There is no use in making plans to get
rid of these miseries of the material body. The best course is
to find out the means by which one may regain his spiritual
identity.
(13) One should not be attached to more than the necessities
of life required for spiritual advancement.
 54

(14) One should not be more attached to wife, children and

home than the revealed scriptures
ordain.
(15) One should not be happy or distressed over desirables
and undesirables, knowing that such feelings are just created
by the mind.
(16) One should become an unalloyed devotee of the
Personality of Godhead, Çré Kåñëa, and serve Him with rapt
attention.
(17) One should develop a liking for residence in a secluded
place with a calm and quiet atmosphere favorable for spiritual
culture, and one should avoid congested places where
nondevotees congregate.
(18) One should become a scientist or philosopher and
conduct research into spiritual knowledge, recognizing that
spiritual knowledge is permanent whereas material
knowledge ends with the death of the body.
These eighteen items combine to form a gradual process by
which real knowledge can be developed. Except for these, all
other methods are considered to be in the category of
nescience. Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura, a great äcärya,
maintained that all forms of material knowledge are merely
external features of the illusory energy and that by culturing
them one becomes no better than an ass. This same principle
is found here in Çré Éçopaniñad. By advancement of material
knowledge, modern man is simply being converted into an
ass. Some materialistic politicians in spiritual guise decry the
present system of civilization as satanic, but unfortunately
they do not care about the culture of real knowledge as it is
described in the Bhagavad-gétä. Thus they cannot change the
satanic situation.
 55

In the modern society, even a boy thinks himself self-

sufficient and pays no respect to elderly men. Due to the
wrong type of education being imparted in our universities,
boys all over the world are giving their elders headaches.
Thus Çré Éçopaniñad very strongly warns that the culture of
nescience is different from that of knowledge. The
universities are, so to speak, centers of nescience only;
consequently scientists are busy discovering lethal weapons to
wipe out the existence of other countries. University students
today are not given instructions in the regulative principles of
brahmacarya (celibate student life), nor do they have any
faith in any scriptural injunctions. Religious principles are
taught for the sake of name and fame only and not for the
sake of practical action. Thus there is animosity not only in
social and political fields but in the field of religion as well.
Nationalism has developed in different parts of the world due
to the cultivation of nescience by the general people. No one
considers that this tiny earth is just a lump of matter floating
in immeasurable space along with many other lumps. In
comparison to the vastness of space, these material lumps are
like dust particles in the air. Because God has kindly made
these lumps of matter complete in themselves, they are
perfectly equipped with all necessities for floating in space.
The drivers of our spaceships may be very proud of their
achievements, but they do not consider the supreme driver of
these greater, more gigantic spaceships called planets.
There are innumerable suns and innumerable planetary
systems also. As infinitesimal parts and parcels of the
Supreme Lord, we small creatures are trying to dominate
these unlimited planets. Thus we take repeated birth and
death and are generally frustrated by old age and disease. The
 56

span of human life is scheduled for about a hundred years,

although it is gradually decreasing to twenty or thirty years.
Thanks to the culture of nescience, befooled men have
created their own nations within these planets in order to
grasp sense enjoyment more effectively for these few years.
Such foolish people draw up various plans to render national
demarcations perfectly, a task that is totally impossible. Yet
for this purpose each and every nation has become a source
of anxiety for others. More than fifty percent of a nation's
energy is devoted to defense measures and thus spoiled. No
one cares for the cultivation of real knowledge, yet people are
falsely proud of being advanced in both material and spiritual
knowledge.
Çré Éçopaniñad warns us of this faulty type of education, and
the Bhagavad-gétä gives instructions as to the development of
real knowledge. This mantra states that the instructions of
vidyä (knowledge) must be acquired from a dhéra. A dhéra is
one who is not disturbed by material illusion. No one can be
undisturbed unless he is perfectly spiritually realized, at
which time one neither hankers nor laments for anything. A
dhéra realizes that the material body and mind he has
acquired by chance through material association are but
foreign elements; therefore he simply makes the best use of a
bad bargain.
The material body and mind are bad bargains for the spiritual
living entity. The living entity has actual functions in the
living, spiritual world, but this material world is dead. As long
as the living spiritual sparks manipulate the dead lumps of
matter, the dead world appears to be a living world. Actually
it is the living souls, the parts and parcels of the supreme
living being, who move the world. The dhéras have come to
 57

know all these facts by hearing them from superior

authorities and have realized this knowledge by following the
regulative principles.
To follow the regulative principles, one must take shelter of a
bona fide spiritual master. The transcendental message and
regulative principles come down from the spiritual master to
the disciple. Such knowledge does not come in the hazardous
way of nescient education. One can become a dhéra only by
submissively hearing from a bona fide spiritual master.
Arjuna, for example, became a dhéra by submissively hearing
from Lord Kåñëa, the Personality of Godhead Himself. Thus
the perfect disciple must be like Arjuna, and the spiritual
master must be as good as the Lord Himself. This is the
process of learning vidyä (knowledge) from the dhéra (the
undisturbed).
An adhéra (one who has not undergone the training of a
dhéra) cannot be an instructive leader. Modern politicians
who pose themselves as dhéras are actually adhéras, and one
cannot expect perfect knowledge from them. They are simply
busy seeing to their own remuneration in dollars and cents.
How, then, can they lead the mass of people to the right path
of self-realization? Thus one must hear submissively from a
dhéra in order to attain actual education.
Mantra Eleven
TEXT
vidyäà cävidyäà ca yas
tad vedobhayaà saha
avidyayä måtyuà tértvä
vidyayämåtam açnute
SYNONYMS
 58

vidyäm—knowledge in fact; ca—and; avidyäm—nescience;

ca—and; yaù—a person who; tat—that; veda—knows;
ubhayam—both; saha—simultaneously; avidyayä—by culture
of nescience; måtyum—repeated death; tértvä—transcending;
vidyayä—by culture of knowledge; amåtam—deathlessness;
açnute—enjoys.
TRANSLATION
Only one who can learn the process of nescience and that of
transcendental knowledge side by side can transcend the
influence of repeated birth and death and enjoy the full
blessings of immortality.
PURPORT
Since the creation of the material world, everyone has been
trying to attain a permanent life, but the laws of nature are so
cruel that no one has been able to avoid the hand of death.
No one wants to die, nor does anyone want to become old or
diseased. The law of nature, however, does not allow anyone
immunity from old age, disease or death. Nor has the
advancement of material knowledge solved these problems.
Material science can discover the nuclear bomb to accelerate
the process of death, but it cannot discover anything that can
protect man from the cruel hands of old age, disease and
death.
From the Puräëas we learn of the activities of Hiraëyakaçipu,
a king who was very much advanced materially. Wanting to
conquer cruel death by his material acquisitions and the
strength of his nescience, he underwent a type of meditation
so severe that the inhabitants of all the planetary systems
became disturbed by his mystic powers. He forced the creator
of the universe, the demigod Brahmä, to come down to him.
He then asked Brahmä for the benediction of becoming
 59

amara, by which one does not die. Brahmä said that he could
not award the benediction because even he, the material
creator who rules all planets, is not amara. As confirmed in
the Bhagavad-gétä (8.17), Brahmä lives a long time, but that
does not mean he is immortal.
Hiraëya means "gold," and kaçipu means "soft bed." This
cunning gentleman Hiraëyakaçipu was interested in these two
things-money and women-and he wanted to enjoy them by
becoming immortal. He asked from Brahmä many
benedictions in hopes of indirectly fulfilling his desire to
become immortal. Since Brahmä told him that he could not
grant the gift of immortality, Hiraëyakaçipu requested that he
not be killed by any man, animal, god or any other living
being within the 8,400,000 species. He also asked that he not
die on land, in the air or water, or by any weapon. In this way
Hiraëyakaçipu foolishly thought these guarantees would save
him from death. Ultimately, however, although Brahmä
granted him all these benedictions, he was killed by the
Personality of Godhead in the form of Nåsiàha, the Lord's
half-lion, half-man incarnation, and no weapon was used to
kill him, for he was killed by the Lord's nails. Nor was he
killed on the land, in the air or in the water, for he was killed
on the lap of that wonderful living being, Nåsiàha, who was
beyond his conception.
The whole point here is that even Hiraëyakaçipu, the most
powerful of materialists, could not become deathless by his
various plans. What, then, can be accomplished by the tiny
Hiraëyakaçipus of today, whose plans are thwarted from
moment to moment?
Çré Éçopaniñad instructs us not to make one-sided attempts to
win the struggle for existence. Everyone is struggling hard for
 60

existence, but the laws of material nature are so hard and fast
that they do not allow anyone to surpass them. In order to
attain a permanent life, one must be prepared to go back to
Godhead.
The process by which one goes back to Godhead is a different
branch of knowledge, and it has to be learned from revealed
Vedic scriptures such as the Upaniñads, Vedänta-sütra,
Bhagavad-gétä and Çrémad-Bhägavatam. To become happy in
this life and attain a permanent blissful life after leaving this
material body, one must study this sacred literature and
obtain transcendental knowledge. The conditioned living
being has forgotten his eternal relationship with God and has
mistakenly accepted the temporary place of his birth as all in
all. The Lord has kindly delivered the above-mentioned
scriptures in India and other scriptures in other countries to
remind the forgetful human being that his home is not here in
this material world. The living being is a spiritual entity, and
he can be happy only by returning to his spiritual home.
From His kingdom the Personality of Godhead sends His
bona fide servants to propagate this message by which one
can return to Godhead, and sometimes the Lord comes
Himself to do this work. Since all living beings are His
beloved sons, His parts and parcels, God is more sorry than
we ourselves to see the sufferings we are constantly
undergoing in this material condition. The miseries of this
material world serve to indirectly remind us of our
incompatibility with dead matter. Intelligent living entities
generally take note of these reminders and engage themselves
in the culture of vidyä, or transcendental knowledge. Human
life is the best opportunity for the culture of spiritual
knowledge, and a human being who does not take advantage
 61

of this opportunity is called a narädhama, the lowest of

human beings.
The path of avidyä, or advancement of material knowledge
for sense gratification, is the path of repeated birth and death.
As he exists spiritually, the living entity has no birth or death.
Birth and death apply to the outward covering of the spirit
soul, the body. Death is compared to the taking off and birth
to the putting on of outward garments. Foolish human beings
who are grossly absorbed in the culture of avidyä, nescience,
do not mind this cruel process. Enamored with the beauty of
the illusory energy, they undergo the same miseries
repeatedly and do not learn any lessons from the laws of
nature.
Therefore the culture of vidyä, or transcendental knowledge,
is essential for the human being. Sense enjoyment in the
diseased material condition must be restricted as far as
possible. Unrestricted sense enjoyment in this bodily
condition is the path of ignorance and death. The living
entities are not without spiritual senses; every living being in
his original, spiritual form has all the senses, which are now
materially manifested, being covered by the material body
and mind. The activities of the material senses are perverted
reflections of the activities of the original, spiritual senses. In
his diseased condition, the spirit soul engages in material
activities under the material covering. Real sense enjoyment
is possible only when the disease of materialism is removed.
In our pure spiritual form, free from all material
contamination, real enjoyment of the senses is possible. A
patient must regain his health before he can truly enjoy sense
pleasure again. Thus the aim of human life should not be to
enjoy perverted sense enjoyment but to cure the material
 62

disease. Aggravation of the material disease is no sign of

knowledge, but a sign of avidyä, ignorance. For good health, a
person should not increase his fever from 105 degrees to 107
degrees but should reduce his temperature to the normal 98.6.
That should be the aim of human life. The modern trend of
material civilization is to increase the temperature of the
feverish material condition, which has reached the point of
107 degrees in the form of atomic energy. Meanwhile, the
foolish politicians are crying that at any moment the world
may go to hell. That is the result of the advancement of
material knowledge and the neglect of the most important
part of life, the culture of spiritual knowledge. Çré Éçopaniñad
herein warns that we must not follow this dangerous path
leading to death. On the contrary, we must develop the
culture of spiritual knowledge so that we may become
completely free from the cruel hands of death.
This does not mean that all activities for the maintenance of
the body should be stopped. There is no question of stopping
activities, just as there is no question of wiping out one's
temperature altogether when trying to recover from a disease.
"To make the best use of a bad bargain" is the appropriate
expression. The culture of spiritual knowledge necessitates
the help of the body and mind; therefore maintenance of the
body and mind is required if we are to reach our goal. The
normal temperature should be maintained at 98.6 degrees,
and the great sages and saints of India have attempted to do
this by a balanced program of spiritual and material
knowledge. They never allow the misuse of human
intelligence for diseased sense gratification.
Human activities diseased by a tendency toward sense
gratification have been regulated in the Vedas under the
 63

principles of salvation. This system employs religion,

economic development, sense gratification and salvation, but
at the present moment people have no interest in religion or
salvation. They have only one aim in life-sense gratification-
and in order to achieve this end they make plans for economic
development. Misguided men think that religion should be
maintained because it contributes to economic development,
which is required for sense gratification. Thus in order to
guarantee further sense gratification after death, in heaven,
there is some system of religious observance. But this is not
the purpose of religion. The path of religion is actually meant
for self-realization, and economic development is required
just to maintain the body in a sound, healthy condition. A
man should lead a healthy life with a sound mind just to
realize vidyä, true knowledge, which is the aim of human life.
This life is not meant for working like an ass or for culturing
avidyä for sense gratification.
The path of vidyä is most perfectly presented in Çrémad-
Bhägavatam, which directs a human being to utilize his life to
inquire into the Absolute Truth. The Absolute Truth is
realized step by step as Brahman, Paramätmä and finally
Bhagavän, the Personality of Godhead. The Absolute Truth
is realized by the broadminded man who has attained
knowledge and detachment by following the eighteen
principles of the Bhagavad-gétä described in the purport to
Mantra Ten. The central purpose of these eighteen principles
is the attainment of transcendental devotional service to the
Personality of Godhead. Therefore all classes of men are
encouraged to learn the art of devotional service to the Lord.
The guaranteed path to the aim of vidyä is described by Çréla
Rüpa Gosvämé in his Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu, which we have
 64

presented in English as The Nectar of Devotion. The culture

of vidyä is summarized in Çrémad-Bhägavatam (1.2.14) in the
following words:
tasmäd ekena manasä
bhagavän sätvatäà patiù
çrotavyaù kértitavyaç ca
dhyeyaù püjyaç ca nityadä
"Therefore, with one-pointed attention one should constantly
hear about, glorify, remember and worship the Personality of
Godhead, who is the protector of the devotees."
Unless religion, economic development and sense
gratification aim toward the attainment of devotional service
to the Lord, they are all simply different forms of nescience,
as Çré Éçopaniñad indicates in the following mantras.
Mantra Twelve
TEXT
andhaà tamaù praviçanti
ye 'sambhütim upäsate
tato bhüya iva te tamo
ya u sambhütyäm ratäù
SYNONYMS
andham—ignorance; tamaù—darkness; praviçanti—enter
into; ye—those who; asambhütim—demigods; upäsate—
worship; tataù—than that; bhüyaù—still more; iva—like that;
te—those; tamaù—darkness; ye—who; u—also;
sambhütyäm—in the Absolute; ratäù—engaged.
TRANSLATION
Those who are engaged in the worship of demigods enter into
the darkest region of ignorance, and still more so do the
worshipers of the impersonal Absolute.
PURPORT
 65

The Sanskrit word asambhüti refers to those who have no

independent existence. Sambhüti is the Absolute Personality
of Godhead, who is absolutely independent of everything. In
the Bhagavad-gétä (10.2), the Absolute Personality of
Godhead, Çré Kåñëa, states:
na me viduù sura-gaëä
prabhavaà na maharñayaù
aham ädir hi devänäà
maharñéëäà ca sarvaçaù
"Neither the hosts of demigods nor the great sages know My
origin or opulences, for in every respect I am the source of
the demigods and sages." Thus Kåñëa is the origin of the
powers delegated to demigods, great sages and mystics.
Although they are endowed with great powers, these powers
are limited, and thus it is very difficult for them to know how
Kåñëa Himself appears by His own internal potency in the
form of a man.
Many philosophers and great åñis, or mystics, try to
distinguish the Absolute from the relative by their tiny brain
power. This can only help them reach the negative conception
of the Absolute without realizing any positive trace of the
Absolute. Definition of the Absolute by negation is not
complete. Such negative definitions lead one to create a
concept of one's own; thus one imagines that the Absolute
must be formless and without qualities. Such negative
qualities are simply the reversals of relative, material qualities
and are therefore also relative. By conceiving of the Absolute
in this way, one can at the utmost reach the impersonal
effulgence of God, known as Brahman, but one cannot make
further progress to Bhagavän, the Personality of Godhead.
 66

Such mental speculators do not know that the Absolute

Personality of Godhead is Kåñëa, that the impersonal
Brahman is the glaring effulgence of His transcendental body,
or that the Paramätmä, the Supersoul, is His all-pervading
plenary representation. Nor do they know that Kåñëa has His
eternal form with its transcendental qualities of eternal bliss
and knowledge. The dependent demigods and great sages
imperfectly consider Him to be a powerful demigod, and they
consider the Brahman effulgence to be the Absolute Truth.
But the devotees of Kåñëa, by dint of their surrendering unto
Him and their unalloyed devotion, can know that He is the
Absolute Person and that everything emanates from Him.
Such devotees continuously render loving service unto Kåñëa,
the fountainhead of everything.
In the Bhagavad-gétä (7.20, 23) it is said that only
unintelligent, bewildered persons driven by a strong desire for
sense gratification worship the demigods for the temporary
relief of temporary problems. Since the living being is
materially entangled, he has to be relieved from material
bondage entirely to attain permanent relief on the spiritual
plane, where eternal bliss, life and knowledge exist. Çré
Éçopaniñad therefore instructs that we should not seek
temporary relief of our difficulties by worshiping the
dependent demigods, who can bestow only temporary benefit.
Rather, we must worship the Absolute Personality of
Godhead, Kåñëa, who is all-attractive and who can bestow
upon us complete freedom from material bondage by taking
us back home, back to Godhead.
It is stated in the Bhagavad-gétä (7.23) that the worshipers of
the demigods can go to the planets of the demigods. The
moon worshipers can go to the moon, the sun worshipers to
 67

the sun, etc. Modern scientists are now venturing to the moon
with the help of rockets, but this is not really a new attempt.
With their advanced consciousness, human beings are
naturally inclined to travel in outer space and to reach other
planets, either by spaceships, mystic powers or demigod
worship. In the Vedic scriptures it is said that one can reach
other planets by any one of these three ways, but the most
common way is by worshiping the demigod presiding over a
particular planet. In this way one can reach the moon planet,
the sun planet and even Brahmaloka, the topmost planet in
this universe. However, all planets in the material universe
are temporary residences; the only permanent planets are the
Vaikuëöhalokas. These are found in the spiritual sky, where
the Personality of Godhead Himself predominates. As Lord
Kåñëa states in the Bhagavad-gétä (8.16):
äbrahma-bhuvanäl lokäù
punar ävartino 'rjuna
mäm upetya tu kaunteya
punar janma na vidyate
"From the highest planet in the material world down to the
lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and
death take place. But one who attains My abode, O son of
Kunté, never takes birth again."
Çré Éçopaniñad points out that one who worships the demigods
and attains to their material planets still remains in the
darkest region of the universe. The whole universe is covered
by the gigantic material elements; it is just like a coconut
covered by a shell and half-filled with water. Since its
covering is airtight, the darkness within is dense, and
therefore the sun and the moon are required for illumination.
Outside the universe is the vast and unlimited brahmajyoti
 68

expansion, which is filled with Vaikuëöhalokas. The biggest

and highest planet in the brahmajyoti is Kåñëaloka, or Goloka
Våndävana, where the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Çré
Kåñëa Himself, resides. Lord Çré Kåñëa never leaves
Kåñëaloka. Although He dwells there with His eternal
associates, He is omnipresent throughout the complete
material and spiritual cosmic manifestations. This fact has
already been explained in Mantra Four. The Lord is present
everywhere, just like the sun, yet He is situated in one place,
just as the sun is situated in its own undeviating orbit.
The problems of life cannot be solved simply by going to the
moon planet or to some other planet above or below it.
Therefore Çré Éçopaniñad advises us not to bother with any
destination within this dark material universe, but to try to
get out of it and reach the effulgent kingdom of God. There
are many pseudo worshipers who become religionists only for
the sake of name and fame. Such pseudo religionists do not
wish to get out of this universe and reach the spiritual sky.
They only want to maintain the status quo in the material
world under the garb of worshiping the Lord. The atheists
and impersonalists lead such foolish pseudo religionists into
the darkest regions by preaching the cult of atheism. The
atheist directly denies the existence of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, and the impersonalists support the
atheists by stressing the impersonal aspect of the Supreme
Lord. Thus far we have not come across any mantra in Çré
Éçopaniñad in which the Supreme Personality of Godhead is
denied. It is said that He can run faster than anyone. Those
who are running after other planets are certainly persons, and
if the Lord can run faster than all of them, how can He be
impersonal? The impersonal conception of the Supreme Lord
 69

is another form of ignorance, arising from an imperfect

conception of the Absolute Truth.
The ignorant pseudo religionists and the manufacturers of so-
called incarnations who directly violate the Vedic injunctions
are liable to enter into the darkest region of the universe
because they mislead those who follow them. These
impersonalists generally pose themselves as incarnations of
God to foolish persons who have no knowledge of Vedic
wisdom. If such foolish men have any knowledge at all, it is
more dangerous in their hands than ignorance itself. Such
impersonalists do not even worship the demigods according
to the scriptural recommendations. In the scriptures there are
recommendations for worshiping demigods under certain
circumstances, but at the same time these scriptures state that
there is normally no need for this. In the Bhagavad-gétä (7.23)
it is clearly stated that the results derived from worshiping the
demigods are not permanent. Since the entire material
universe is impermanent, whatever is achieved within the
darkness of material existence is also impermanent. The
question is how to obtain real and permanent life.
The Lord states that as soon as one reaches Him by
devotional service-which is the one and only way to approach
the Personality of Godhead-one attains complete freedom
from the bondage of birth and death. In other words, the path
of salvation from the material clutches fully depends on the
principles of knowledge and detachment gained from serving
the Lord. The pseudo religionists have neither knowledge nor
detachment from material affairs, for most of them want to
live in the golden shackles of material bondage under the
shadow of philanthropic activities disguised as religious
principles. By a false display of religious sentiments, they
 70

present a show of devotional service while indulging in all

sorts of immoral activities. In this way they pass as spiritual
masters and devotees of God. Such violators of religious
principles have no respect for the authoritative äcäryas, the
holy teachers in the strict disciplic succession. They ignore the
Vedic injunction äcäryopäsana—"One must worship the
äcärya"—and Kåñëa's statement in the Bhagavad-gétä (4.2)
evaà paramparä-präptam, "This supreme science of God is
received through the disciplic succession." Instead, to mislead
the people in general they themselves become so-called
äcäryas, but they do not even follow the principles of the
äcäryas.
These rogues are the most dangerous elements in human
society. Because there is no religious government, they escape
punishment by the law of the state. They cannot, however,
escape the law of the Supreme, who has clearly declared in
the Bhagavad-gétä that envious demons in the garb of
religious propagandists shall be thrown into the darkest
regions of hell (Bg. 16.19-20). Çré Éçopaniñad confirms that
these pseudo religionists are heading toward the most
obnoxious place in the universe after the completion of their
spiritual master business, which they conduct simply for sense
gratification.
Mantra Thirteen
TEXT
anyad evähuù sambhaväd
anyad ähur asambhavät
iti çuçruma dhéräëäà
ye nas tad vicacakñire
SYNONYMS
 71

anyat—different; eva—certainly; ähuù—it is said;

sambhavät—by worshiping the Supreme Lord, the cause of all
causes; anyat—different; ähuù—it is said; asambhavät—by
worshiping what is not the Supreme; iti—thus; çuçruma—I
heard it; dhéräëäm—from the undisturbed authorities; ye—
who; naù—unto us; tat—about that subject matter;
vicacakñire—perfectly explained.
TRANSLATION
It is said that one result is obtained by worshiping the
supreme cause of all causes and that another result is
obtained by worshiping what is not supreme. All this is heard
from the undisturbed authorities, who clearly explained it.
PURPORT
The system of hearing from undisturbed authorities is
approved in this mantra. Unless one hears from a bona fide
äcärya, who is never disturbed by the changes of the material
world, one cannot have the real key to transcendental
knowledge. The bona fide spiritual master, who has also
heard the çruti-mantras, or Vedic knowledge, from his
undisturbed äcärya, never presents anything that is not
mentioned in the Vedic literature. In the Bhagavad-gétä (9.25)
it is clearly said that those who worship the pitås, or
forefathers, attain the planets of the forefathers, that the
gross materialists who make plans to remain here stay in this
world, and that the devotees of the Lord who worship none
but Lord Kåñëa, the supreme cause of all causes, reach Him in
His spiritual sky. Here also in Çré Éçopaniñad it is verified that
one achieves different results by different modes of worship.
If we worship the Supreme Lord, we will certainly reach Him
in His eternal abode, and if we worship demigods like the sun-
god or moon-god, we can reach their respective planets
 72

without a doubt. And if we wish to remain on this wretched

planet with our planning commissions and our stopgap
political adjustments, we can certainly do that also.
Nowhere in authentic scriptures is it said that one will
ultimately reach the same goal by doing anything or
worshiping anyone. Such foolish theories are offered by self-
made "spiritual masters" who have no connection with the
paramparä, the bona fide system of disciplic succession. The
bona fide spiritual master cannot say that all paths lead to the
same goal and that anyone can attain this goal by his own
mode of worship of the demigods or of the Supreme or
whatever. Any common man can very easily understand that
a person can reach his destination only when he has
purchased a ticket for that destination. A person who has
purchased a ticket for Calcutta can reach Calcutta, but not
Bombay. But the so-called spiritual masters say that any and
all paths will take one to the supreme goal. Such mundane
and compromising offers attract many foolish creatures, who
become puffed up with their manufactured methods of
spiritual realization. The Vedic instructions, however, do not
uphold them. Unless one has received knowledge from the
bona fide spiritual master who is in the recognized line of
disciplic succession, one cannot have the real thing as it is.
Kåñëa tells Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gétä (4.2):
evaà paramparä-präptam
imaà räjarñayo viduù
sa käleneha mahatä
yogo nañöaù parantapa
"This supreme science was thus received through the chain of
disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that
 73

way. But in course of time the succession was broken, and

therefore the science as it is appears to be lost."
When Lord Çré Kåñëa was present on this earth, the bhakti-
yoga principles defined in the Bhagavad-gétä had become
distorted; therefore the Lord had to reestablish the disciplic
system beginning with Arjuna, who was the most confidential
friend and devotee of the Lord. The Lord clearly told Arjuna
(Bg. 4.3) that it was because Arjuna was His devotee and
friend that he could understand the principles of the
Bhagavad-gétä. In other words, only the Lord's devotee and
friend can understand the Gétä. This also means that only one
who follows the path of Arjuna can understand the Bhagavad-
gétä.
At the present moment there are many interpreters and
translators of this sublime dialogue who care nothing for Lord
Kåñëa or Arjuna. Such interpreters explain the verses of the
Bhagavad-gétä in their own way and postulate all sorts of
rubbish in the name of the Gétä. Such interpreters believe
neither in Çré Kåñëa nor in His eternal abode. How, then, can
they explain the Bhagavad-gétä?
Kåñëa clearly says that only those who have lost their sense
worship the demigods for paltry rewards (Bg. 7.20, 23).
Ultimately He advises that one give up all other ways and
modes of worship and fully surrender unto Him alone (Bg.
18.66). Only those who are cleansed of all sinful reactions can
have such unflinching faith in the Supreme Lord. Others will
continue hovering on the material platform with their paltry
ways of worship and thus will be misled from the real path
under the false impression that all paths lead to the same goal.
In this mantra of Çré Éçopaniñad the word sam-bhavät, "by
worship of the supreme cause," is very significant. Lord Kåñëa
 74

is the original Personality of Godhead, and everything that

exists has emanated from Him. In the Bhagavad-gétä (10.8)
the Lord says,
ahaà sarvasya prabhavo
mattaù sarvaà pravartate
iti matvä bhajante mäà
budhä bhäva-samanvitäù
"I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds.
Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know
this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all
their hearts."
Here is a correct description of the Supreme Lord, given by
the Lord Himself. The words sarvasya pra-bhavaù indicate
that Kåñëa is the creator of everyone, including Brahmä,
Viñëu and Çiva. And because these three principal deities of
the material world are created by the Lord, the Lord is the
creator of all that exists in the material and spiritual worlds.
In the Atharva Veda (Gopäla-täpané Upaniñad 1.24) it is
similarly said, "He who existed before the creation of Brahmä
and who enlightened Brahmä with Vedic knowledge is Lord
Çré Kåñëa." Similarly, the Näräyaëa Upaniñad (1) states,
"Then the Supreme Person, Näräyaëa, desired to create all
living beings. Thus from Näräyaëa, Brahmä was born.
Näräyaëa created all the Prajäpatis. Näräyaëa created Indra.
Näräyaëa created the eight Vasus. Näräyaëa created the
eleven Rudras. Näräyaëa created the twelve Ädityas." Since
Näräyaëa is a plenary manifestation of Lord Kåñëa, Näräyaëa
and Kåñëa are one and the same. The Näräyaëa Upaniñad (4)
also states, "Devaké's son [Kåñëa] is the Supreme Lord." The
identity of Näräyaëa with the supreme cause has also been
accepted and confirmed by Çrépäda Çaìkaräcärya, even
 75

though Çaìkara does not belong to the Vaiñëava, or

personalist, cult. The Atharva Veda (Mahä Upaniñad 1) also
states, "Only Näräyaëa existed in the beginning, when neither
Brahmä, nor Çiva, nor fire, nor water, nor stars, nor sun, nor
moon existed. The Lord does not remain alone but creates as
He desires." Kåñëa Himself states in the Mokña-dharma, "I
created the Prajäpatis and the Rudras. They do not have
complete knowledge of Me because they are covered by My
illusory energy." It is also stated in the Varäha Puräëa:
"Näräyaëa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and from
Him the four-headed Brahmä was manifested, as well as
Rudra, who later became omniscient."
Thus all Vedic literature confirms that Näräyaëa, or Kåñëa, is
the cause of all causes. In the Brahma-saàhitä (5.1) also it is
said that the Supreme Lord is Çré Kåñëa, Govinda, the
delighter of every living being and the primeval cause of all
causes. The really learned persons know this from evidence
given by the great sages and the Vedas, and thus they decide
to worship Lord Kåñëa as all in all. Such persons are called
budha, or really learned, because they worship only Kåñëa.
The conviction that Kåñëa is all in all is established when one
hears the transcendental message from the undisturbed
äcärya with faith and love. One who has no faith in or love for
Lord Kåñëa cannot be convinced of this simple truth. Those
who are faithless are described in the Bhagavad-gétä (9.11) as
müòhas-fools or asses. It is said that the müòhas deride the
Personality of Godhead because they do not have complete
knowledge from the undisturbed äcärya. One who is
disturbed by the whirlpool of material energy is not qualified
to become an äcärya.
 76

Before hearing the Bhagavad-gétä, Arjuna was disturbed by

the material whirlpool, by his affection for his family, society
and community. Thus Arjuna wanted to become a
philanthropic, nonviolent man of the world. But when he
became budha by hearing the Vedic knowledge of the
Bhagavad-gétä from the Supreme Person, he changed his
decision and became a worshiper of Lord Çré Kåñëa, who had
Himself arranged the Battle of Kurukñetra. Arjuna worshiped
the Lord by fighting with his so-called relatives, and in this
way he became a pure devotee of the Lord. Such
accomplishments are possible only when one worships the
real Kåñëa and not some fabricated "Kåñëa" invented by
foolish men who are without knowledge of the intricacies of
the science of Kåñëa described in the Bhagavad-gétä and
Çrémad-Bhägavatam.
According to the Vedänta-sütra, sambhüta is the source of
birth and sustenance, as well as the reservoir that remains
after annihilation (janmädy asya yataù [SB 1.1.1]). The
Çrémad-Bhägavatam, the natural commentary on the
Vedänta-sütra by the same author, maintains that the source
of all emanations is not like a dead stone but is abhijïa, or
fully conscious. The primeval Lord, Çré Kåñëa, also says in the
Bhagavad-gétä (7.26) that He is fully conscious of past,
present and future and that no one, including demigods such
as Çiva and Brahmä, knows Him fully. Certainly half-
educated "spiritual leaders" who are disturbed by the tides of
material existence cannot know Him fully. They try to make
some compromise by making the mass of humanity the object
of worship, but they do not know that such worship is only a
myth because the masses are imperfect. The attempt by these
so-called spiritual leaders is something like pouring water on
 77

the leaves of a tree instead of the root. The natural process is

to pour water on the root, but such disturbed leaders are
more attracted to the leaves than the root. Despite their
perpetually watering the leaves, however, everything dries up
for want of nourishment.
Çré Éçopaniñad advises us to pour water on the root, the
source of all germination. Worship of the mass of humanity
by rendering bodily service, which can never be perfect, is less
important than service to the soul. The soul is the root that
generates different types of bodies according to the law of
karma. To serve human beings by medical aid, social help and
educational facilities while at the same time cutting the
throats of poor animals in slaughterhouses is no service at all
to the soul, the living being.
The living being is perpetually suffering in different types of
bodies from the material miseries of birth, old age, disease
and death. The human form of life offers one a chance to get
out of this entanglement simply by reestablishing the lost
relationship between the living entity and the Supreme Lord.
The Lord comes personally to teach this philosophy of
surrender unto the Supreme, the sambhüta. Real service to
humanity is rendered when one teaches surrender to and
worship of the Supreme Lord with full love and energy. That
is the instruction of Çré Éçopaniñad in this mantra.
The simple way to worship the Supreme Lord in this age of
disturbance is to hear and chant about His great activities.
The mental speculators, however, think that the activities of
the Lord are imaginary; therefore they refrain from hearing
of them and invent some word jugglery without any substance
to divert the attention of the innocent masses of people.
Instead of hearing of the activities of Lord Kåñëa, such
 78

pseudo spiritual masters advertise themselves by inducing

their followers to sing about them. In modern times the
number of such pretenders has increased considerably, and it
has become a problem for the pure devotees of the Lord to
save the masses of people from the unholy propaganda of
these pretenders and pseudo incarnations.
The Upaniñads indirectly draw our attention to the primeval
Lord, Çré Kåñëa, but the Bhagavad-gétä, which is the summary
of all the Upaniñads, directly points to Çré Kåñëa. Therefore
one should hear about Kåñëa as He is by hearing from the
Bhagavad-gétä or Çrémad-Bhägavatam, and in this way one's
mind will gradually be cleansed of all contaminated things.
Çrémad-Bhägavatam (1.2.17) says, "By hearing of the
activities of the Lord, the devotee draws the attention of the
Lord. Thus the Lord, being situated in the heart of every
living being, helps the devotee by giving him proper
directions." The Bhagavad-gétä (10.10) confirms this: dadämi
buddhi-yogaà taà yena mäm upayänti te.
The Lord's inner direction cleanses the devotee's heart of all
contamination produced by the material modes of passion
and ignorance. Nondevotees are under the sway of passion
and ignorance. One who is in passion cannot become
detached from material hankering, and one who is in
ignorance cannot know what he is or what the Lord is. Thus
when one is in passion or ignorance, there is no chance for
self-realization, however much one may play the part of a
religionist. For a devotee, the modes of passion and ignorance
are removed by the grace of the Lord. In this way the devotee
becomes situated in the quality of goodness, the sign of a
perfect brähmaëa. Anyone can qualify as a brähmaëa if he
follows the path of devotional service under the guidance of a
 79

bona fide spiritual master. Çrémad-Bhägavatam (2.4.18) also

says:
kiräta-hüëändhra-pulinda-pulkaçä
äbhéra-çumbhä yavanäù khasädayaù
ye 'nye ca päpä yad-apäçrayäçrayäù
çudhyanti tasmai prabhaviñëave namaù
Any lowborn person can be purified by the guidance of a pure
devotee of the Lord, for the Lord is extraordinarily powerful.
When one attains brahminical qualifications, he becomes
happy and enthusiastic to render devotional service to the
Lord. Automatically the science of God is unveiled before
him. By knowing the science of God, one gradually becomes
freed from material attachments, and one's doubtful mind
becomes crystal clear by the grace of the Lord. One who
attains this stage is a liberated soul and can see the Lord in
every step of life. This is the perfection of sambhava, as
described in this mantra of Çré Éçopaniñad.
Mantra Fourteen
TEXT
sambhütià ca vinäçaà ca
yas tad vedobhayaà saha
vinäçena måtyuà tértvä
sambhütyämåtam açnute
SYNONYMS
sambhütim—the eternal Personality of Godhead, His
transcendental name, form, pastimes, qualities and
paraphernalia, the variegatedness of His abode, etc.; ca—and;
vinäçam—the temporary material manifestation of demigods,
men, animals, etc., with their false names, fame, etc.; ca—also;
yaù—one who; tat—that; veda—knows; ubhayam—both;
saha—along with; vinäçena—with everything liable to be
 80

vanquished; måtyum—death; tértvä—surpassing; sam-

bhütyä—in the eternal kingdom of God; amåtam—
deathlessness; açnute—enjoys.
TRANSLATION
One should know perfectly the Personality of Godhead Çré
Kåñëa and His transcendental name, form, qualities and
pastimes, as well as the temporary material creation with its
temporary demigods, men and animals. When one knows
these, he surpasses death and the ephemeral cosmic
manifestation with it, and in the eternal kingdom of God he
enjoys his eternal life of bliss and knowledge.
PURPORT
By its so-called advancement of knowledge, human
civilization has created many material things, including
spaceships and atomic energy. Yet it has failed to create a
situation in which people need not die, take birth again,
become old or suffer from disease. Whenever an intelligent
man raises the question of these miseries before a so-called
scientist, the scientist very cleverly replies that material
science is progressing and that ultimately it will be possible to
render man deathless, ageless and diseaseless. Such answers
prove the scientists' gross ignorance of material nature. In
material nature, everyone is under the stringent laws of
matter and must pass through six stages of existence: birth,
growth, maintenance, production of by-products,
deterioration and finally death. No one in contact with
material nature can be beyond these six laws of
transformation; therefore no one-whether demigod, man,
animal or plant-can survive forever in the material world.
The duration of life varies according to species. Lord Brahmä,
the chief living being within this material universe, lives for
 81

millions and millions of years, while a minute germ lives for

some hours only. But no one in the material world can survive
eternally. Things are born or created under certain
conditions, they stay for some time, and, if they continue to
live, they grow, procreate, gradually dwindle and finally
vanish. According to these laws, even the Brahmäs, of which
there are millions in different universes, are all liable to death
either today or tomorrow. Therefore the entire material
universe is called Martyaloka, the place of death.
Material scientists and politicians are trying to make this
place deathless because they have no information of the
deathless spiritual nature. This is due to their ignorance of the
Vedic literature, which contains full knowledge confirmed by
mature transcendental experience. Unfortunately, modern
man is averse to receiving knowledge from the Vedas,
Puräëas and other scriptures.
From the Viñëu Puräëa (6.7.61) we receive the following
information:
viñëu-çaktiù parä proktä
kñetra-jïäkhyä tathä parä
avidyä-karma-saàjïänyä
tåtéyä çaktir iñyate
[Cc. Madhya 6.154]
Lord Viñëu, the Personality of Godhead, possesses different
energies, known as parä (superior) and aparä (inferior). The
living entities belong to the superior energy. The material
energy, in which we are presently entangled, is the inferior
energy. The material creation is made possible by this energy,
which covers the living entities with ignorance (avidyä) and
induces them to perform fruitive activities. Yet there is
another part of the Lord's superior energy that is different
 82

from both this material, inferior energy and the living entities.
That superior energy constitutes the eternal, deathless abode
of the Lord. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä (8.20):
paras tasmät tu bhävo 'nyo
'vyakto 'vyaktät sanätanaù
yaù sa sarveñu bhüteñu
naçyatsu na vinaçyati
All the material planets-upper, lower and intermediate,
including the sun, moon and Venus-are scattered throughout
the universe. These planets exist only during the lifetime of
Brahmä. Some lower planets, however, are vanquished after
the end of one day of Brahmä and are again created during
the next day of Brahmä. On the upper planets, time is
calculated differently. One of our years is equal to only
twenty-four hours, or one day and night, on many of the
upper planets. The four ages of earth (Satya, Tretä, Dväpara
and Kali) last only twelve thousand years according to the
time scale of the upper planets. Such a length of time
multiplied by one thousand constitutes one day of Brahmä,
and one night of Brahmä is the same. Such days and nights
accumulate into months and years, and Brahmä lives for one
hundred such years. At the end of Brahmä's life, the complete
universal manifestation is vanquished.
Those living beings who reside on higher planets like the sun
and the moon, as well as those on Martyaloka, this earth
planet, and also those who live on lower planets-all are
merged into the waters of devastation during the night of
Brahmä. During this time no living beings or species remain
manifest, although spiritually they continue to exist. This
unmanifested stage is called avyakta. Again, when the entire
universe is vanquished at the end of Brahmä's lifetime, there
 83

is another avyakta state. But beyond these two unmanifested

states is another unmanifested state, the spiritual atmosphere,
or nature. There are a great number of spiritual planets in this
atmosphere, and these planets exist eternally, even when all
the planets within this material universe are vanquished at the
end of Brahmä's life. There are many material universes, each
under the jurisdiction of a Brahmä, and this cosmic
manifestation within the jurisdiction of the various Brahmäs is
but a display of one fourth of the energy of the Lord (ekapäd-
vibhüti). This is the inferior energy. Beyond the jurisdiction of
Brahmä is the spiritual nature, which is called tripäd-vibhüti,
three fourths of the Lord's energy. This is the superior
energy, or parä-prakåti.
The predominating Supreme Person residing within the
spiritual nature is Lord Çré Kåñëa. As confirmed in the
Bhagavad-gétä (8.22), He can be approached only by
unalloyed devotional service and not by the processes of
jïäna (philosophy), yoga (mysticism) or karma (fruitive
work). The karmés, or fruitive workers, can elevate
themselves to the Svargaloka planets, which include the sun
and the moon. Jïänés and yogés can attain still higher planets,
such as Maharloka, Tapoloka and Brahmaloka, and when
they become still more qualified through devotional service
they can enter into the spiritual nature, either the illuminating
cosmic atmosphere of the spiritual sky (Brahman) or the
Vaikuëöha planets, according to their qualification. It is
certain, however, that no one can enter into the spiritual
Vaikuëöha planets without being trained in devotional
service.
On the material planets, everyone from Brahmä down to the
ant is trying to lord it over material nature, and this is the
 84

material disease. As long as this material disease continues,

the living entity has to undergo the process of bodily change.
Whether he takes the form of a man, demigod or animal, he
ultimately has to endure an unmanifested condition during
the two devastations—the devastation during the night of
Brahmä and the devastation at the end of Brahmä's life. If we
want to put an end to this process of repeated birth and
death, as well as the concomitant factors of old age and
disease, we must try to enter the spiritual planets, where we
can live eternally in the association of Lord Kåñëa or His
plenary expansions, His Näräyaëa forms. Lord Kåñëa or His
plenary expansions dominate every one of these innumerable
planets, a fact confirmed in the çruti mantras: eko vaçé sarva-
gaù kåñëa éòyaù/ eko 'pi san bahudhä yo 'vabhäti. (Gopäla-
täpané Upaniñad 1.21)
No one can dominate Kåñëa. It is the conditioned soul who
tries to dominate material nature and is instead subjected to
the laws of material nature and the sufferings of repeated
birth and death. The Lord comes here to reestablish the
principles of religion, and the basic principle is the
development of an attitude of surrender to Him. This is the
Lord's last instruction in the Bhagavad-gétä (18.66): sarva-
dharmän parityajya mäm ekaà çaraëaà vraja. "Give up all
other processes and just surrender unto Me alone."
Unfortunately, foolish men have misinterpreted this prime
teaching and misled the masses of people in diverse ways.
People have been urged to open hospitals but not to educate
themselves to enter into the spiritual kingdom by devotional
service. They have been taught to take interest only in
temporary relief work, which can never bring real happiness
to the living entity. They start varieties of public and semi-
 85

governmental institutions to tackle the devastating power of

nature, but they don't know how to pacify insurmountable
nature. Many men are advertised as great scholars of the
Bhagavad-gétä, but they overlook the Gétä's message, by
which material nature can be pacified. Powerful nature can be
pacified only by the awakening of God consciousness, as
clearly pointed out in the Bhagavad-gétä (7.14).
In this mantra, Çré Éçopaniñad teaches that one must perfectly
know both sambhüti (the Personality of Godhead) and vinäça
(the temporary material manifestation), side by side. By
knowing the material manifestation alone, one cannot be
saved, for in the course of nature there is devastation at every
moment (ahany ahani bhütäni gacchantéha yamä-layam). Nor
can one be saved from these devastations by the opening of
hospitals. One can be saved only by complete knowledge of
the eternal life of bliss and awareness. The whole Vedic
scheme is meant to educate men in this art of attaining eternal
life. People are often misguided by temporary attractive
things based on sense gratification, but service rendered to
the sense objects is both misleading and degrading.
We must therefore save ourselves and our fellow man in the
right way. There is no question of liking or disliking the truth.
It is there. If we want to be saved from repeated birth and
death, we must take to the devotional service of the Lord.
There can be no compromise, for this is a matter of necessity.
Mantra Fifteen
TEXT
hiraëmayena pätreëa
satyasyäpihitaà mukham
tat tvaà püñann apävåëu
satya-dharmäya dåñöaye
 86

SYNONYMS
hiraëmayena—by a golden effulgence; pätreëa—by a dazzling
covering; satyasya—of the Supreme Truth; apihitam—
covered; mukham—the face; tat—that covering; tvam—
Yourself; püñan—O sustainer; apävåëu—kindly remove;
satya—pure; dharmäya—unto the devotee; dåñöaye—for
exhibiting.
TRANSLATION
O my Lord, sustainer of all that lives, Your real face is
covered by Your dazzling effulgence. Kindly remove that
covering and exhibit Yourself to Your pure devotee.
PURPORT
In the Bhagavad-gétä (14.27), the Lord explains His personal
rays (brahmajyoti), the dazzling effulgence of His personal
form, in this way:
brahmaëo hi pratiñöhäham
amåtasyävyayasya ca
çäçvatasya ca dharmasya
sukhasyaikäntikasya ca
"I am the basis of the impersonal Brahman, which is
immortal, imperishable and eternal and is the constitutional
position of ultimate happiness." Brahman, Paramätmä and
Bhagavän are three aspects of the same Absolute Truth.
Brahman is the aspect most easily perceived by the beginner;
Paramätmä, the Supersoul, is realized by those who have
further progressed; and Bhagavän realization is the ultimate
realization of the Absolute Truth. This is confirmed in the
Bhagavad-gétä (7.7), where Lord Kåñëa says that He is the
ultimate concept of the Absolute Truth: mattaù parataraà
nänyat. Therefore Kåñëa is the source of the brahmajyoti as
 87

well as the all-pervading Paramätmä. Later in the Bhagavad-

gétä (10.42) Kåñëa further explains:
atha vä bahunaitena
kià jïätena tavärjuna
viñöabhyäham idaà kåtsnam
ekäàçena sthito jagat
"But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed
knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and
support this entire universe." Thus by His one plenary
expansion, the all-pervading Paramätmä, the Lord maintains
the complete material cosmic creation. He also maintains all
manifestations in the spiritual world. Therefore in this çruti-
mantra of Çré Éçopaniñad, the Lord is addressed as püñan, the
ultimate maintainer.
The Personality of Godhead, Çré Kåñëa, is always filled with
transcendental bliss (änanda-mayo 'bhyäsät). When He was
present at Våndävana in India five thousand years ago, He
always remained in transcendental bliss, even from the
beginning of His childhood pastimes. The killings of various
demons-such as Agha, Baka, Pütanä and Pralamba-were but
pleasure excursions for Him. In His village of Våndävana He
enjoyed Himself with His mother, brother and friends, and
when He played the role of a naughty butter thief, all His
associates enjoyed celestial bliss by His stealing. The Lord's
fame as a butter thief is not reproachable, for by stealing
butter the Lord gave pleasure to His pure devotees.
Everything the Lord did in Våndävana was for the pleasure of
His associates there. The Lord created these pastimes to
attract the dry speculators and the acrobats of the so-called
haöha-yoga system who wish to find the Absolute Truth.
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Of the childhood play between the Lord and His playmates,

the cowherd boys, Çukadeva Gosvämé says in Çrémad-
Bhägavatam (10.12.11):
itthaà satäà brahma-sukhänubhütyä
däsyaà gatänäà para-daivatena
mäyäçritänäà nara-därakeëa
säkaà vijahruù kåta-puëya-puïjäù
"The Personality of Godhead, who is perceived as the
impersonal, blissful Brahman by the jïänés, who is worshiped
as the Supreme Lord by devotees in the mood of servitorship,
and who is considered an ordinary human being by mundane
people, played with the cowherd boys, who had attained their
position after accumulating many pious activities."
Thus the Lord is always engaged in transcendental loving
activities with His spiritual associates in the various
relationships of çänta (neutrality), däsya (servitorship),
sakhya (friendship), vätsalya (parental affection) and
mädhurya (conjugal love).
Since it is said that Lord Kåñëa never leaves Våndävana-
dhäma, one may ask how He manages the affairs of the
creation. This is answered in the Bhagavad-gétä (13.14-18):
The Lord pervades the entire material creation by His
plenary part known as the Paramätmä, or Supersoul.
Although the Lord personally has nothing to do with material
creation, maintenance and destruction, He causes all these
things to be done by His plenary expansion, the Paramätmä.
Every living entity is known as ätmä, soul, and the principal
ätmä who controls them all is Paramätmä, the Supersoul.
This system of God realization is a great science. The
materialistic säìkhya-yogés can only analyze and meditate on
the twenty-four factors of the material creation, for they have
 89

very little information of the puruña, the Lord. And the

impersonal transcendentalists are simply bewildered by the
glaring effulgence of the brahmajyoti. If one wants to see the
Absolute Truth in full, one has to penetrate beyond the
twenty-four material elements and the glaring effulgence as
well. Çré Éçopaniñad points toward this direction, praying for
the removal of the hiraëmaya-pätra, the dazzling covering of
the Lord. Unless this covering is removed so one can perceive
the real face of the Personality of Godhead, factual
realization of the Absolute Truth can never be achieved.
The Paramätmä feature of the Personality of Godhead is one
of three plenary expansions, or viñëu-tattvas, collectively
known as the puruña-avatäras. One of these viñëu-tattvas who
is within the universe is known as Kñérodakaçäyé Viñëu. He is
the Viñëu among the three principal deities-Brahmä, Viñëu
and Çiva-and He is the all-pervading Paramätmä in each and
every individual living entity. The second viñëu-tattva within
the universe is Garbhodakaçäyé Viñëu, the collective
Supersoul of all living entities. Beyond these two is
Käraëodakaçäyé Viñëu, who lies in the Causal Ocean. He is
the creator of all universes. The yoga system teaches the
serious student to meet the viñëu-tattvas after going beyond
the twenty-four material elements of the cosmic creation. The
culture of empiric philosophy helps one realize the
impersonal brahmajyoti, which is the glaring effulgence of the
transcendental body of Lord Çré Kåñëa. That the brahmajyoti
is Kåñëa's effulgence is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä
(14.27) as well as the Brahma-saàhitä (5.40):
yasya prabhä-prabhavato jagad-aëòa-koöi-
koöiñv açeña-vasudhädi vibhüti-bhinnam
tad brahma niñkalam anantam açeña-bhütaà
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govindam ädi-puruñaà tam ahaà bhajämi

"In the millions and millions of universes there are
innumerable planets, and each and every one of them is
different from the others by its cosmic constitution. All of
these planets are situated in a corner of the brahmajyoti. This
brahmajyoti is but the personal rays of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Govinda, whom I worship." This
mantra from the Brahma-saàhitä is spoken from the platform
of factual realization of the Absolute Truth, and the çruti-
mantra of Çré Éçopaniñad under discussion confirms this
mantra as a process of realization. The Éçopaniñad mantra is a
simple prayer to the Lord to remove the brahmajyoti so that
one can see His real face. This brahmajyoti effulgence is
described in detail in several mantras of the Muëòaka
Upaniñad (2.2.10-12):
hiraëmaye pare koçe
virajaà brahma niñkalam
tac chubhraà jyotiñäà jyotis
tad yad ätma-vido viduù
na tatra süryo bhäti na candra-tärakaà
nemä vidyuto bhänti kuto 'yam agniù
tam eva bhäntam anu bhäti sarvaà
tasya bhäsä sarvam idaà vibhäti
brahmaivedam amåtaà purastäd brahma
paçcäd brahma dakñiëataç cottareëa
adhaç cordhvaà ca prasåtaà brahmai-
vedaà viçvam idaà variñöham
"In the spiritual realm, beyond the material covering, is the
unlimited Brahman effulgence, which is free from material
contamination. That effulgent white light is understood by
transcendentalists to be the light of all lights. In that realm
 91

there is no need of sunshine, moonshine, fire or electricity for

illumination. Indeed, whatever illumination appears in the
material world is only a reflection of that supreme
illumination. That Brahman is in front and in back, in the
north, south, east and west, and also overhead and below. In
other words, that supreme Brahman effulgence spreads
throughout both the material and spiritual skies."
Perfect knowledge means knowing Kåñëa as the root of this
Brahman effulgence. This knowledge can be gained from such
scriptures as Çrémad-Bhägavatam, which perfectly elaborates
the science of Kåñëa. In Çrémad-Bhägavatam, the author, Çréla
Vyäsadeva, has established that one will describe the
Supreme Truth as Brahman, Paramätmä or Bhagavän
according to one's realization of Him. Çréla Vyäsadeva never
states that the Supreme Truth is a jéva, an ordinary living
entity. The living entity should never be considered the all-
powerful Supreme Truth. If he were the Supreme, he would
not need to pray to the Lord to remove His dazzling cover so
that the living entity could see His real face.
The conclusion is that one who has no knowledge of the
potencies of the Supreme Truth will realize the impersonal
Brahman. Similarly, when one realizes the material potencies
of the Lord but has little or no information of the spiritual
potencies, he attains Paramätmä realization. Thus both
Brahman and Paramätmä realization of the Absolute Truth
are partial realizations. However, when one realizes
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Çré Kåñëa, in full
potency after the removal of the hiraëmaya-pätra, one
realizes väsudevaù sarvam iti: [Bg. 7.19] Lord Çré Kåñëa, who
is known as Väsudeva, is everything-Brahman, Paramätmä
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and Bhagavän. He is Bhagavän, the root, and Brahman and

Paramätmä are His branches.
In the Bhagavad-gétä (6.46-47) there is a comparative analysis
of the three types of transcendentalists—the worshipers of
the impersonal Brahman (jïänés), the worshipers of the
Paramätmä feature (yogés) and the devotees of Lord Çré
Kåñëa (bhaktas). It is stated there that the jïänés, those who
have cultivated Vedic knowledge, are better than ordinary
fruitive workers, that the yogés are still greater than the
jïänés, and that among all yogés, those who constantly serve
the Lord with all their energies are the topmost. In summary,
a philosopher is better than a laboring man, a mystic is
superior to a philosopher, and of all the mystic yogés, he who
follows bhakti-yoga, constantly engaging in the service of the
Lord, is the highest. Çré Éçopaniñad directs us toward this
perfection.
Mantra Sixteen
TEXT
püñann ekarñe yama sürya präjäpatya
vyüha raçmén samüha
tejo yat te rüpaà kalyäëa-tamaà
tat te paçyämi yo 'säv asau puruñaù so 'ham asmi
SYNONYMS
püñan—O maintainer; eka-åñe—the primeval philosopher;
yama—the regulating principle; sürya—the destination of the
süris (great devotees); präjäpatya—the well-wisher of the
prajäpatis (progenitors of mankind); vyüha—kindly remove;
raçmén—the rays; samüha—kindly withdraw; tejaù—
effulgence; yat—so that; te—Your; rüpam—form; kalyäëa-
tamam—most auspicious; tat—that; te—Your; paçyämi—I
may see; yaù—one who is; asau—like the sun; asau—that;
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puruñaù—Personality of Godhead; saù—myself; aham—I;

asmi—am.
TRANSLATION
O my Lord, O primeval philosopher, maintainer of the
universe, O regulating principle, destination of the pure
devotees, well-wisher of the progenitors of mankind, please
remove the effulgence of Your transcendental rays so that I
can see Your form of bliss. You are the eternal Supreme
Personality of Godhead, like unto the sun, as am I.
PURPORT
The sun and its rays are one and the same qualitatively.
Similarly, the Lord and the living entities are one and the
same in quality. The sun is one, but the molecules of the sun's
rays are innumerable. The sun's rays constitute part of the
sun, and the sun and its rays conjointly constitute the
complete sun. Within the sun itself resides the sun-god, and
similarly within the supreme spiritual planet, Goloka
Våndävana, from which the brahmajyoti effulgence is
emanating, the Lord enjoys His eternal pastimes, as verified
in the Brahma-saàhitä (5.29):
cintämaëi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-våkña-
lakñävåteñu surabhér abhipälayantam
lakñmé-sahasra-çata-sambhrama-sevyamänaà
govindam ädi-puruñaà tam ahaà bhajämi
"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor,
who is tending the cows fulfilling all desires in abodes filled
with spiritual gems and surrounded by millions of wish-
fulfilling trees. He is always served with great reverence and
affection by hundreds of thousands of Lakñmés, or goddesses
of fortune."
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The brahmajyoti is described in the Brahma-saàhitä as the

rays emanating from that supreme spiritual planet, Goloka
Våndävana, just as the sun's rays emanate from the sun globe.
Until one surpasses the glare of the brahmajyoti, one cannot
receive information of the land of the Lord. The
impersonalist philosophers, blinded as they are by the
dazzling brahmajyoti, can realize neither the factual abode of
the Lord nor His transcendental form. Limited by their poor
fund of knowledge, such impersonalist thinkers cannot
understand the all-blissful transcendental form of Lord
Kåñëa. In this prayer, therefore, Çré Éçopaniñad petitions the
Lord to remove the effulgent rays of the brahmajyoti so that
the pure devotee can see His all-blissful transcendental form.
By realizing the impersonal brahmajyoti, one experiences the
auspicious aspect of the Supreme, and by realizing the
Paramätmä, or all-pervading feature of the Supreme, one
experiences an even more auspicious enlightenment. But by
meeting the Personality of Godhead Himself face to face, the
devotee experiences the most auspicious feature of the
Supreme. Since He is addressed as the primeval philosopher
and maintainer and well-wisher of the universe, the Supreme
Truth cannot be impersonal. This is the verdict of Çré
Éçopaniñad. The word püñan ("maintainer") is especially
significant, for although the Lord maintains all beings, He
specifically maintains His devotees. After surpassing the
impersonal brahmajyoti and seeing the personal aspect of the
Lord and His most auspicious eternal form, the devotee
realizes the Absolute Truth in full.
In his Bhagavat-sandarbha, Çréla Jéva Gosvämé states: "The
complete conception of the Absolute Truth is realized in the
Personality of Godhead because He is almighty and possesses
 95

full transcendental potencies. The full potency of the

Absolute Truth is not realized in the brahmajyoti; therefore
Brahman realization is only partial realization of the
Personality of Godhead. O learned sages, the first syllable of
the word bhagavän (bha) has two meanings: the first is 'one
who fully maintains,' and the second is 'guardian.' The second
syllable (ga) means 'guide,' 'leader' or 'creator.' The syllable
vän indicates that every being lives in Him and that He also
lives in every being. In other words, the transcendental sound
bhagavän represents infinite knowledge, potency, energy,
opulence, strength and influence-all without a tinge of
material inebriety."
The Lord fully maintains His unalloyed devotees, and He
guides them progressively on the path toward devotional
perfection. As the leader of His devotees, He ultimately
awards the desired results of devotional service by giving
Himself to them. The devotees of the Lord see the Lord eye
to eye by His causeless mercy; thus the Lord helps His
devotees reach the supermost spiritual planet, Goloka
Våndävana. Being the creator, He can bestow all necessary
qualifications upon His devotees so that they can ultimately
reach Him. The Lord is the cause of all causes. In other
words, since there is nothing that caused Him, He is the
original cause. Consequently He enjoys His own Self by
manifesting His own internal potency. The external potency is
not exactly manifested by Him, for He expands Himself as the
puruñas, and it is in these forms that He maintains the
features of the material manifestation. By such expansions,
He creates, maintains and annihilates the cosmic
manifestation.
 96

The living entities are also differentiated expansions of the

Lord's Self, and because some of them desire to be lords and
imitate the Supreme Lord, He allows them to enter into the
cosmic creation with the option to fully utilize their
propensity to lord it over nature. Because of the presence of
His parts and parcels, the living entities, the entire
phenomenal world is stirred into action and reaction. Thus
the living entities are given full facilities to lord it over
material nature, but the ultimate controller is the Lord
Himself in His plenary feature as Paramätmä, the Supersoul,
who is one of the puruñas.
Thus there is a gulf of difference between the living entity
(ätmä) and the controlling Lord (Paramätmä), the soul and
the Supersoul. Paramätmä is the controller, and the ätmä is
the controlled; therefore they are in different categories.
Because the Paramätmä fully cooperates with the ätmä, He is
known as the constant companion of the living being.
The all-pervading feature of the Lord-which exists in all
circumstances of waking and sleeping as well as in potential
states and from which the jéva-çakti (living force) is generated
as both conditioned and liberated souls-is known as Brahman.
Since the Lord is the origin of both Paramätmä and Brahman,
He is the origin of all living entities and all else that exists.
One who knows this engages himself at once in the devotional
service of the Lord. Such a pure and fully cognizant devotee
of the Lord is fully attached to Him in heart and soul, and
whenever such a devotee assembles with similar devotees,
they have no engagement but the glorification of the Lord's
transcendental activities. Those who are not as perfect as the
pure devotees-namely, those who have realized only the
Brahman or Paramätmä features of the Lord-cannot
 97

appreciate the activities of the perfect devotees. The Lord

always helps the pure devotees by imparting necessary
knowledge within their hearts, and thus out of His special
favor He dissipates all the darkness of ignorance. The
speculative philosophers and yogés cannot imagine this,
because they more or less depend on their own strength. As
stated in the Kaöha Upaniñad (1.2.23), the Lord can be known
only by those whom He favors, and not by anyone else. Such
special favors are bestowed upon His pure devotees only. Çré
Éçopaniñad thus points to the favor of the Lord, which is
beyond the purview of the brahmajyoti.
Mantra Seventeen
TEXT
väyur anilam amåtam
athedaà bhasmäntaà çaréram
oà krato smara kåtaà smara
krato smara kåtaà smara
SYNONYMS
väyuù—air of life; anilam—total reservoir of air; amåtam—
indestructible; atha—now; idam—this; bhasmäntam—after
being turned to ashes; çaréram—body; oà—O Lord; krato—
O enjoyer of all sacrifices; smara—please remember; kåtam—
all that has been done by me; smara—please remember;
krato—O supreme beneficiary; smara—please remember;
kåtam—all that I have done for You; smara—please
remember.
TRANSLATION
Let this temporary body be burnt to ashes, and let the air of
life be merged with the totality of air. Now, O my Lord,
please remember all my sacrifices, and because You are the
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ultimate beneficiary, please remember all that I have done for

You.
PURPORT
The temporary material body is certainly a foreign dress. The
Bhagavad-gétä (2.20) clearly says that after the destruction of
the material body the living entity is not annihilated, nor does
he lose his identity. The identity of the living entity is never
impersonal or formless; on the contrary, it is the material
dress that is formless and that takes a shape according to the
form of the indestructible person. No living entity is originally
formless, as is wrongly thought by those with a poor fund of
knowledge. This mantra verifies the fact that the living entity
exists after the annihilation of the material body.
In the material world, material nature displays wonderful
workmanship by creating varieties of bodies for the living
beings according to their propensities for sense gratification.
The living entity who wants to taste stool is given a material
body that is quite suitable for eating stool—that of a hog.
Similarly, one who wants to eat the flesh and blood of other
animals may be given a tiger's body equipped with suitable
teeth and claws. But the human being is not meant for eating
flesh, nor does he have any desire to taste stool, even in the
most aboriginal state. Human teeth are so made that they can
chew and cut fruit and vegetables, although there are two
canine teeth so that primitive humans can eat flesh if they so
desire.
But in any case, the material bodies of all animals and men
are foreign to the living entity. They change according to the
living entity's desire for sense gratification. In the cycle of
evolution, the living entity changes bodies one after another.
When the world was full of water, the living entity took an
 99

aquatic form. Then he passed to vegetable life, from

vegetable life to worm life, from worm life to bird life, from
bird life to animal life, and from animal life to the human
form. The highest developed form is this human form when it
is possessed of a full sense of spiritual knowledge. The highest
development of one's spiritual sense is described in this
mantra: One should give up the material body, which will be
turned to ashes, and allow the air of life to merge into the
eternal reservoir of air. The living being's activities are
performed within the body through the movements of
different kinds of air, known in summary as präëa-väyu. The
yogés generally study how to control the airs of the body. The
soul is supposed to rise from one circle of air to another until
it rises to the brahma-randhra, the highest circle. From that
point the perfect yogé can transfer himself to any planet he
likes. The process is to give up one material body and then
enter into another. But the highest perfection of such changes
occurs only when the living entity is able to give up the
material body altogether, as suggested in this mantra, and
enter into the spiritual atmosphere, where he can develop a
completely different type of body-a spiritual body, which
never has to meet death or change.
Here in the material world, material nature forces the living
entity to change his body due to his different desires for sense
gratification. These desires are represented in the various
species of life, from
germs to the most perfected material bodies, those of Brahmä
and the demigods. All of these living entities have bodies
composed of matter in different shapes. The intelligent man
sees oneness not in the variety of the bodies but in the
spiritual identity. The spiritual spark, which is part and parcel
 100

of the Supreme Lord, is the same whether he is in a body of a

hog or in the body of a demigod. The living entity takes on
different bodies according to his pious and vicious activities.
The human body is highly developed and has full
consciousness. According to the Bhagavad-gétä (7.19), the
most perfect man surrenders unto the Lord after many, many
lifetimes of culturing knowledge. The culture of knowledge
reaches perfection only when the knower comes to the point
of surrendering unto the Supreme Lord, Väsudeva.
Otherwise, even after attaining knowledge of one's spiritual
identity, if one does not come to the point of knowing that the
living entities are eternal parts and parcels of the whole and
can never become the whole, one has to fall down again into
the material atmosphere. Indeed, one must fall down even if
he has become one with the brahmajyoti.
As we have learned from previous mantras, the brahmajyoti
emanating from the transcendental body of the Lord is full of
spiritual sparks that are individual entities with the full sense
of existence. Sometimes these living entities want to enjoy
their senses, and therefore they are placed in the material
world to become false lords under the dictation of the senses.
The desire for lordship is the material disease of the living
being, for under the spell of sense enjoyment he transmigrates
through the various bodies manifested in the material world.
Becoming one with the brahmajyoti does not represent
mature knowledge. Only by surrendering unto the Lord
completely and developing one's sense of spiritual service
does one reach the highest perfectional stage.
In this mantra the living entity prays to enter the spiritual
kingdom of God after relinquishing his material body and
material air. The devotee prays to the Lord to remember his
 101

activities and the sacrifices he has performed before his

material body is turned into ashes. He makes this prayer at
the time of death, with full consciousness of his past deeds
and of the ultimate goal. One who is completely under the
rule of material nature remembers the heinous activities he
performed during the existence of his material body, and
consequently he gets another material body after death. The
Bhagavad-gétä (8.6) confirms this truth:
yaà yaà väpi smaran bhävaà
tyajaty ante kalevaram
taà tam evaiti kaunteya
sadä tad-bhäva-bhävitaù
"Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his
body, O son of Kunté, that state he will attain without fail."
Thus the mind carries the living entity's propensities into the
next life.
Unlike the simple animals, who have no developed mind, the
dying human being can remember the activities of his life like
dreams at night; therefore his mind remains surcharged with
material desires, and consequently he cannot enter into the
spiritual kingdom with a spiritual body. The devotees,
however, develop a sense of love for Godhead by practicing
devotional service to the Lord. Even if at the time of death a
devotee does not remember his service to the Lord, the Lord
does not forget him. This prayer is given to remind the Lord
of the devotee's sacrifices, but even if there is no such
reminder, the Lord does not forget the service rendered by
His pure devotee.
The Lord clearly describes His intimate relationship with His
devotees in the Bhagavad-gétä (9.30-34): "Even if one
commits the most abominable action, if he is engaged in
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devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is

properly situated in his determination. He quickly becomes
righteous and attains lasting peace. O son of Kunté, declare it
boldly that My devotee never perishes. O son of Påthä, those
who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth-women,
vaiçyas [merchants] as well as çüdras [workers]—can attain
the supreme destination. How much more this is so of the
righteous brähmaëas, the devotees and the saintly kings.
Therefore, having come to this temporary, miserable world,
engage in loving service unto Me. Engage your mind always in
thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me
and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely
you will come to Me."
Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura explains these verses in this way:
"One should regard a devotee of Kåñëa to be on the right
path of the saints, even though such a devotee may seem to be
su-duräcära, 'a person of loose character.' One should try to
understand the real purport of the word su-duräcära. A
conditioned soul has to act for double functions-namely for
the maintenance of the body and again for self-realization.
Social status, mental development, cleanliness, austerity,
nourishment and the struggle for existence are all for the
maintenance of the body. The self-realization part of one's
activities is executed in one's occupation as a devotee of the
Lord, and one performs actions in that connection also. One
must perform these two different functions along parallel
lines, because a conditioned soul cannot give up the
maintenance of his body. The proportion of activities for
maintenance of the body decreases, however, in proportion to
the increase in devotional service. As long as the proportion
of devotional service does not come to the right point, there is
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a chance for an occasional exhibition of worldliness. But it

should be noted that such worldliness cannot continue for
long because, by the grace of the Lord, such imperfections
will come to an end very shortly. Therefore the path of
devotional service is the only right path. If one is on the right
path, even an occasional occurrence of worldliness does not
hamper one in the advancement of self-realization."
The facilities of devotional service are denied the
impersonalists because they are attached to the brahmajyoti
feature of the Lord. As suggested in the previous mantras,
they cannot penetrate the brahma-jyoti because they do not
believe in the Personality of Godhead. Their business is
mostly word jugglery and mental speculation. Consequently
the impersonalists pursue a fruitless labor, as confirmed in the
Twelfth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gétä (12.5).
All the facilities suggested in this mantra can be easily
obtained by constant contact with the personal feature of the
Absolute Truth. Devotional service to the Lord consists
essentially of nine transcendental activities: (1) hearing about
the Lord, (2) glorifying the Lord, (3) remembering the Lord,
(4) serving the lotus feet of the Lord, (5) worshiping the Lord,
(6) offering prayers to the Lord, (7) serving the Lord, (8)
enjoying friendly association with the Lord, and (9)
surrendering everything unto the Lord. These nine principles
of devotional service-taken all together or one by one-help a
devotee remain constantly in touch with God. In this way, at
the end of life it is easy for the devotee to remember the
Lord. By adopting only one of these nine principles, the
following renowned devotees of the Lord were able to
achieve the highest perfection: (1) By hearing of the Lord,
Mahäräja Parékñit, the hero of Çrémad-Bhägavatam, attained
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the desired result. (2) Just by glorifying the Lord, Çukadeva

Gosvämé, the speaker of Çrémad-Bhägavatam, attained his
perfection. (3) By praying to the Lord, Akrüra attained the
desired result. (4) By remembering the Lord, Prahläda
Mahäräja attained the desired result. (5) By worshiping the
Lord, Påthu Mahäräja attained perfection. (6) By serving the
lotus feet of the Lord, the goddess of fortune, Lakñmé,
attained perfection. (7) By rendering personal service to the
Lord, Hanumän attained the desired result. (8) Through his
friendship with the Lord, Arjuna attained the desired result.
(9) By surrendering everything he had to the Lord, Mahäräja
Bali attained the desired result.
Actually, the explanation of this mantra and of practically all
the mantras of the Vedic hymns is summarized in the
Vedänta-sütra and properly explained in Çrémad-Bhägavatam.
Çrémad-Bhägavatam is the mature fruit of the Vedic tree of
wisdom. In Çrémad-Bhägavatam this particular mantra is
explained in the questions and answers between Mahäräja
Parékñit and Çukadeva Gosvämé at the very beginning of their
meeting. Hearing and chanting of the science of God is the
basic principle of devotional life. The complete Bhägavatam
was heard by Mahäräja Parékñit and chanted by Çukadeva
Gosvämé. Mahäräja Parékñit inquired from Çukadeva because
Çukadeva was a greater spiritual master than any great yogé
or transcendentalist of his time.
Mahäräja Parékñit's main question was: "What is the duty of
every man, specifically at the time of death?" Çukadeva
Gosvämé answered:
tasmäd bhärata sarvätmä
bhagavän éçvaro hariù
çrotavyaù kértitavyaç ca
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smartavyaç cecchatäbhayam
"Everyone who desires to be free from all anxieties should
always hear about, glorify and remember the Personality of
Godhead, who is the supreme director of everything, the
extinguisher of all difficulties, and the Supersoul of all living
entities." (SB 2.1.5)
So-called human society is generally engaged at night in
sleeping and having sex and during the daytime in earning as
much money as possible or else in shopping for family
maintenance. People have very little time to talk about the
Personality of Godhead or to inquire about Him. They have
dismissed God's existence in so many ways, primarily by
declaring Him to be impersonal, that is, without sense
perception. But in the Vedic literature-whether the
Upaniñads, Vedänta-sütra, Bhagavad-gétä or Çrémad-
Bhägavatam—it is declared that the Lord is a sentient being
and is supreme over all other living entities. His glorious
activities are identical with Himself. One should therefore not
indulge in hearing and speaking of the rubbish activities of
worldly politicians and so-called big men in society but should
mold his life in such a way that he can engage in godly
activities without wasting a second. Çré Éçopaniñad directs us
toward such godly activities.
Unless one is accustomed to devotional practice, what will he
remember at the time of death, when the body is dislocated,
and how can he pray to the almighty Lord to remember his
sacrifices? Sacrifice means denying the interest of the senses.
One has to learn this art by employing the senses in the
service of the Lord during one's lifetime. One can utilize the
results of such practice at the time of death.
Mantra Eighteen
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TEXT
agne naya supathä räye asmän
viçväni deva vayunäni vidvän
yuyodhy asmaj juhuräëam eno
bhüyiñöhäà te nama-uktià vidhema
SYNONYMS
agne—O my Lord, as powerful as fire; naya—kindly lead;
supathä—by the right path; räye—for reaching You; asmän—
us; viçväni—all; deva—O my Lord; vayunäni—actions;
vidvän—the knower; yuyodhi—kindly remove; asmat—from
us; juhuräëam—all hindrances on the path; enaù—all vices;
bhüyiñöhäm—most numerous; te—unto You; namaù uktim—
words of obeisance; vidhema—I do.
TRANSLATION
O my Lord, as powerful as fire, O omnipotent one, now I
offer You all obeisances, falling on the ground at Your feet.
O my Lord, please lead me on the right path to reach You,
and since You know all that I have done in the past, please
free me from the reactions to my past sins so that there will
be no hindrance to my progress.
PURPORT
By surrendering to the Lord and praying for His causeless
mercy, the devotee can progress on the path of complete self-
realization. The Lord is addressed as fire because He can
burn anything into ashes, including the sins of the
surrendered soul. As described in the previous mantras, the
real or ultimate aspect of the Absolute is His feature as the
Personality of Godhead, and His impersonal brahmajyoti
feature is a dazzling covering over His face. Fruitive
activities, or the karma-käëòa path of self-realization, is the
lowest stage in this endeavor. As soon as such activities even
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slightly deviate from the regulative principles of the Vedas,

they are transformed into vikarma, or acts against the interest
of the actor. Such vikarma is enacted by the illusioned living
entity simply for sense gratification, and thus such activities
become hindrances on the path of self-realization.
Self-realization is possible in the human form of life, but not
in other forms. There are 8,400,000 species, or forms of life, of
which the human form qualified by brahminical culture
presents the only chance to obtain knowledge of
transcendence. Brahminical culture includes truthfulness,
sense control, forbearance, simplicity, full knowledge and full
faith in God. It is not that one simply becomes proud of his
high parentage. Just as being born the son of a big man
affords one a chance to become a big man, so being born the
son of a brähmaëa gives one a chance to become a brähmaëa.
But such a birthright is not everything, for one still has to
attain the brahminical qualifications for himself. As soon as
one becomes proud of his birth as the son of a brähmaëa and
neglects to acquire the qualifications of a real brähmaëa, he
at once becomes degraded and falls from the path of self-
realization. Thus his life's mission as a human being is
defeated.
In the Bhagavad-gétä (6.41-42) we are assured by the Lord
that the yoga-bhrañöas, or souls fallen from the path of self-
realization, are given a chance to rectify themselves by taking
birth either in the families of good brähmaëas or in the
families of rich merchants. Such births afford higher chances
for self-realization. If these chances are misused due to
illusion, one loses the good opportunity of human life
afforded by the almighty Lord.
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The regulative principles are such that one who follows them
is promoted from the platform of fruitive activities to the
platform of transcendental knowledge. After many, many
lifetimes of cultivating transcendental knowledge, one
becomes perfect when he surrenders unto the Lord. This is
the general procedure. But one who surrenders at the very
beginning, as recommended in this mantra, at once surpasses
all preliminary stages simply by adopting the devotional
attitude. As stated in the Bhagavad-gétä (18.66), the Lord at
once takes charge of such a surrendered soul and frees him
from all the reactions to his sinful acts. There are many sinful
reactions involved in karma-käëòa activities, whereas in
jïäna-käëòa, the path of philosophical development, the
number of such sinful activities is smaller. But in devotional
service to the Lord, the path of bhakti, there is practically no
chance of incurring sinful reactions. One who is a devotee of
the Lord attains all the good qualifications of the Lord
Himself, what to speak of those of a brähmaëa. A devotee
automatically attains the qualifications of an expert brähmaëa
authorized to perform sacrifices, even though the devotee
may not have taken his birth in a brähmaëa family. Such is the
omnipotence of the Lord. He can make a man born in a
brähmaëa family as degraded as a lowborn dog-eater, and He
can also make a lowborn dog-eater superior to a qualified
brähmaëa simply on the strength of devotional service.
Since the omnipotent Lord is situated within the heart of
everyone, He can give directions to His sincere devotees by
which they can attain the right path. Such directions are
especially offered to the devotee, even if he desires something
else. As far as others are concerned, God gives sanction to
the doer only at the risk of the doer. But in the case of a
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devotee, the Lord directs him in such a way that he never acts
wrongly. The Çrémad-Bhägavatam (11.5.42) says:
sva-päda-mülaà bhajataù priyasya
tyaktänya-bhävasya hariù pareçaù
vikarma yac cotpatitaà kathaïcid
dhunoti sarvaà hådi sanniviñöaù
"The Lord is so kind to the devotee who is fully surrendered
to His lotus feet that even though the devotee sometimes falls
into the entanglement of vikarma-acts against the Vedic
directions—the Lord at once rectifies such mistakes from
within his heart. This is because the devotees are very dear to
the Lord."
In this mantra of Çré Éçopaniñad, the devotee prays to the
Lord to rectify him from within his heart. To err is human. A
conditioned soul is very often apt to commit mistakes, and the
only remedial measure to take against such unintentional sins
is to give oneself up to the lotus feet of the Lord so that He
may guide one to avoid such pitfalls. The Lord takes charge
of fully surrendered souls; thus all problems are solved simply
by surrendering oneself unto the Lord and acting in terms of
His directions. Such directions are given to the sincere
devotee in two ways: one is by way of the saints, scriptures
and spiritual master, and the other is by way of the Lord
Himself, who resides within the heart of everyone. Thus the
devotee, fully enlightened with Vedic knowledge, is protected
in
all respects.
Vedic knowledge is transcendental and cannot be understood
by mundane educational procedures. One can understand the
Vedic mantras only by the grace of the Lord and the spiritual
master (yasya deve parä bhaktir yathä deve tathä gurau [ÇU
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6.23]). If one takes shelter of a bona fide spiritual master, it is

to be understood that he has obtained the grace of the Lord.
The Lord appears as the spiritual master for the devotee.
Thus the spiritual master, the Vedic injunctions and the Lord
Himself from within-all guide the devotee in full strength. In
this way there is no chance for a devotee to fall again into the
mire of material illusion. The devotee, thus protected all
around, is sure to reach the ultimate destination of perfection.
The entire process is hinted at in this mantra, and Çrémad-
Bhägavatam (1.2.17-20) explains it further:
Hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord is itself an act of
piety. The Lord wants everyone to hear and chant His glories
because He is the well-wisher of all living entities. By hearing
and chanting the glories of the Lord, one becomes cleansed of
all undesirable things, and then one's devotion becomes fixed
upon the Lord. At this stage the devotee acquires the
brahminical qualifications, and the effects of the lower modes
of nature (passion and ignorance) completely vanish. The
devotee becomes fully enlightened by virtue of his devotional
service, and thus he comes to know the path of the Lord and
the way to attain Him. As all doubts diminish, he becomes a
pure devotee.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Purports to Çré Éçopaniñad, the
knowledge that brings one nearer to the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, Kåñëa.